Tech 21 XXL

If you can plug in a guitar and turn a knob or two you should have no problems.

The XXL was originally marketed as an overdrive pedal. Mine was a 90's one, not the reissue, which might sound different. Even with the Drive knob all the way down it put out a ferocious distortion. You have to turn the guitar's volume well down to get it to clean up, which often results in a loss of highs. Its not an overdrive by any stretch of the imagination, and if you buy it as such you may well be disappointed. The Warp knob makes a difference but its very subtle and I would often find it sounded better in its neutral position anyway. The XXL's distortion is not half bad but for me the problem is this pedal is incredibly noisy. I though mine had a problem until I compared it with another one - just as bad. With a gate after it it could be used live but imho never ever for recording. The excessive, unsubtle distortion (for a supposed overdrive), lack of true bypass, and mad noise levels give it a low score for me. I put it back on ebay after about a month and replaced it with a Cmatmods Tube Slammer - a dead quiet, beautiful sounding real overdrive that costs about the same.

Decently built and should give no problems.

Never dealt

If this one had god stolen at a gig I'd regret the money loss but not the pedal itself. I bought it to sit in my rig before the EXH Little Big Muff, to provide a more subtle and controllable overdrive. It turned out to be as unsubtle as the LBM (which is an out and out fuzzbox and takes pride in its lack of subtlety) and more noisy.

It's fairly easy to use. The warp control appears to have a quasi-compressor-like effect, and requires some tweaking. Other than that, it's pretty basic.

I'll try to be as objective as possible here. As a stand-alone unit, the XXL sounds pretty good. My only complaint overall is that this unit doesn't have very much low end -- not what I would want in a distortion/fuzz. I play an '06 Clapton Strat through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a Hot Rod Deluxe extension cabinet. Through a 4X12 it might sound perfect, but through the Fender it's not quite convincing.

That said, the real problem I found was that the XXL does not stack well. I run a Telenordia TA-100 Overdrive which is on nearly all the time (without question the best unit of it's kind I've ever heard, much less owned. Check one out.) The TA is set for natural overdrive when the guitar volume is maxed and cleans up beautifully when the guitar is dialed back. I've had very good results stacking a stock Boss Blues Driver on top of the TA for a very good blues sustain. My recent search has been for a unit which I could also stack on the TA, one that would yield a more ballsey-fuzz. The XXL is not the answer for me personally. Try as I might, I have not been able to balance the compression between the two pedals and as a result, I cannot get the XXL loud enough to cut through without dialing the Warp and Drive back so far that it's self-defeating sound-wise.

It seems like a very well-built unit. I have no reason to expect otherwise.

I have not dealt with them.

This is, of course, a very subjective review. It would not surprise me at all to learn that the XXL was not designed to be stacked with other drive pedals and that's fine. Alone, it doesn't sound bad at all, a little noisy with the drive past 1 o'clock, but not bad. It was just not what I was looking for.

Pretty simple to use if you have used pedals before. However I purchased it used and no box nor manual came with mine. The only thing is the warp. Not sure what it really does. I leave it at 10/11 o'clock

This is my holy grail. I run a 61 Reissue SG and a 52 reissue Tele though a Mesa Boogie Mark I. I get a lot of compliments on my tone. I get that old school Billy Gibbons / Los Lobos sound. Nice and FAT / WARM and Gnarly. Has the right amount of Fart Fuzz when needed, cleans up nicely when you back off on your picking and turn the guitar volume down. The tone when you use your fingers is just sick. I play in a few projects from blues to stoner rock / Sabbath type riffs. It is perfect. I had a big muff and found it too muddy and not clear enough. This pedal is clear as a bell with the right amount of mud. Nice amount of crisp pop when you need it and also nice balance of warm sustain. The thing I like the best is like others have pointed out it keeps YOUR sound. It does not compress or bastardize your tone. I suggest pairing this up with a booster pedal such as the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster. This will put your right on top for some nice nice leads. Keep in mind the pedal is not for everyone and tone is also in the hands of the player. If you are looking for anything I discribed above.. This is for you.

Not one problem with it. Battery changing is a pain in the ass when you are about to play.

Again....... A must have.. For single and humberbuck fans.

Try this bad boy out with P-90's and you will pretty much fall in love.

Easy to use: Level, Tone, Warp and Drive. The manual has a few patches to get you started with. You can't really get a good sound out of this pedal if it doesn't fit in well with the rest of your gear.

I've owned this pedal for 8 years and my equipment has changed a lot over time.

Back then, the main elements in my rig were: Humbucker pickups, XXL pedal, 150W Solid state amp. The XXL was exactly what I needed in tonality and drive for my setup. I used to never turn this pedal Off. It did wonders at adding warmth and depth to my tone, especially the warp knob which simulated a satured tube amp.

Nowadays, my rig consist of: Single coil pickups and a clean 30W tube amp. I find myself never using the XXL. It's too harsh for my setup. Level is noisy, Tone is flat and muddy. Warp adds absolutely nothing to the sound, i can't hear it, and Drive is always too heavy like a distortion. I can get a clean overdriven sound but i need to pick very, very, very softly on a string when drive is at 0 or else it just screeches.

Conclusion: this pedal is fine if you play though a solid state amp with enough balls, but it's a no no for tube amps.

This pedal is sturdy. I would rely on it.

On the guitar, I play rock, blues and surf. I tried recording with the XXL but it's just too compressed for serious stuff. I guess for some background rythm guitar it could do the job, but I'll try to find a pedal with a better tone, wider gain stages and more dynamics. For now i'm replacing it with a clean boost which gets the best out my tubes.

Easy to use but as mentioned in other reviews, the warp control is pretty unique to this pedal and may take some getting used to.

Most of the reviews here are people using tube amps, however I use an old Carvin SX200 with this pedal. It's a solid state amp without a lot of character but it's clean channel is VERY clean. I use an Ibanez SZ320 with stock humbuckers and gig several times a month with this rig...so...

First...I leave this pedal on at all times...everything at about 12 o'clock except the drive which is almost all the way down...

This setting gives me a warmer overall sound and I use my guitar volume to clean up the sound. I can roll the guitar volume back up and it has enough drive for my needs.

The point is: it cleans up great (unlike so many distortion pedals) and reacts to guitar volume and pick attack Very well...and gives my souless solid state amp some warmth.

Never had a problem with this one...I have two...I plugged a Boss power adaptor into the old one and it must have been some kind of mis-match because it did damage that pedal...it still works but has less gain for some reason...weird...but the fact that it still works says a lot...and I can still use it as a back up if the newer one goes out (which it doesn't seem inclined to do).

NA

The band I'm in plays a BUNCH of different styles of music...Temptatios, Tina Turner, Black Crowes, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, Top 40, Country, Blues, Disco, light Jazz...pretty much everything except heavy rock.

This pedal works without much hassle...I work days and gig on the weekends...I don't have a bunch of time after work before a gig but I know I can set my amp next to the nearest outlet and plug this thing in and get my "bread and butter" sound...I like that...any other effects are just added spice (tremelo, chorus, wah).

ease of use:... takes some teaking but not a problem

sound ... i am running a vibro champ through a 4x12 the amp on it's own sounds big even though it's only 5/6 watts - it's point to point wired w/ a tube rectifier and can do a very nice fender clean sound - with NOS tubes pushed sounds awesome too - but I wanted a pedal that would give me the equiv of a gain channel - WITH THIS XXL I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER !! very complimentary !! i've tried others..., you know i have... the XXL dialed in right (with my rig), has plenty of balls, and still retains the vintage sound i love. nice with my jh-1(halo induct)wah too. sounds great with PAF's AND single coils!! (the hell you say) i know!!!!!

i hope so, don't know

don't know

gives me the equiv of a gain channel with my fender amp that i love - i'm seriously thinking of trying the original sansamp now (also made by tech 21) because of this pedal but as i said, i couldn't be happier with this XXL - i know EVERYTHING AINT FOR EVERYBODY, and this might not be right for you your style of music or amp , but if your situstion is similar to mine - nice fender clean need a mean overdrive to go with that - give it a shot, (it doesn't sound cheap (with my rig) AT ALL !! but it doesn't cost that much either)

yeah, was easy for me to get the sound i wanted outa this sucker.

this is one one the best sounding pedals i have ever owned, the main reason is it retains the complete tone of my guitar, other pedals 'hijack' the sound, that in itself aint a bad thing if thats what im after, but with this pedal sounds like the complete spectrum is intact.

well it did clap out, i do expect all my pedals to work forever under extreme rock n roll circumstances. tech 21 replaced the board, and been ok since. but it's the only pedal i have ever owned that had to be repaired. (think i own bout 11 pedals all up)

when i got it repaired the process went smooth.

overall it is the best pedal i own, people comment on the sound after gigs, i wanna get more xxl stuff.

This pedal is very simple to get working, no worries there but, I must say the knobs are somtimes a bit of a hassle. For me when switching on and off, because I'm often singing whilst doing this, sometimes if not %100 accurate, I will accidently knock the level knob out of whack and suddenly wonder why my gat's gone 100 times louder. Perhaps if they were a little more stiff or rigid this could have been avoided. But other than that no worries!

If memory serves me correctly, replacing the battery requires a screw driver, thats a bit of uneccessary hassle too!

This is the problem for me. At 1st I loved this pedal, the options for sounds was excellent. In my room and at practice and on recordings it sounded pretty mint. But live its becoming a real pain. For me it just doesn't cut through the mix very well, and after playing my TS-9 or hotcake for a few songs, when I kick in the XXL it sounds really thin and seems quiet because it just gets lost in cymbal noise and what not.

The other problem for me is that it causes a strange buzz. Not major, but definitely noticeable in a quiet situation. (not that I've ever noticed at a gig)Thats especially strange because I use battery for it and I'm reassured batteries can;t cause hum or buzz.

One great feature is the warp though, still love that option. Oh and the sustain on this pedal is amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Reliable as they come. No problems with it suddenly deciding its not going to work. The battery lasts for ages in it, unlike countless other pedals. I've been gigging with it for over a year now with no back up.

Overall its still a great pedal. THere are some really good features on it, like the Warp. But I've found myself using my hotcake for heaps more songs that in the past I used the XXL for. I'm gettin sick of its thin sound and not cutting through the mix is a real pain. If it were stolen, I would explore other options.

go d/l the manual instruction. got mines off of e-bay and e-mail tech 21, and they replied back no prob with infos and such.

now, the warp knob really is the key player here so don't let the drive overpower it if you're seeking the golden singing tone.

tone really is waaaaaay to subtle for my taste,but it does have its use

ofcourse despite what was said above, I've had this baby for a year now, and hm...basically most if not ALL the GREAT COMMENTS and alledged sounds this baby can make can hold true.(ofcourse, I don't think people really made it sound tooo out of this world but its perfect).

here's my checklist.

-SWEETDAMN MOTHER SINGING TONE? CHECK

-SUPER WEEZER BLUE ALBUM CRUNCH? CHECK

-dying fuzz battery sound in its own way? CHECK

-Interesting compressed lead lines that can bring out your playing? yes.

-Sag and BLOOM? Check.

-not like the american woman tone, but someone close because the same company made it? Yes.

-not like the Mariah Carey for your pedal but it does the job fucking well? SWEETDAMN MOTHER you wish you would have done her...ofcourse the closest you can imagine is with this pedal...CHECK!!!

-This thing is freaky, powerful chug, awesome chuggy rhytm? yes...but its more of "singing" pedal...ok.

anyhow, just things that come up to mind, mind you I woke up 10 minutes ago lol, but even if you put whole truth serum into my system...its pretty darn close.


NOW!!! the only disadvantage I've had so far...is that this pedal DOES
not truly bypass, freakin such a big argument so I think people should
have a forum/messageboard. I'm happy for those who went the extra mile and got theirs fixed one way or another. My theory behind this lies with perhaps the drive knob and maybe the warp? turn them both towards the left kinda alleviates the clean sound from have this fudging little high end hiss that follows your output when you play clean.
it does color your sound and may get annoying. I don't mind mines so far because it just adds character to your tone. what?what? making excuse? dude you're gonna die one day, so at least don't sweat it too much.

choosing between batteries and adapter does affect your sound as others mentionned. if you want to be consistent, adapter is the way to go...but once in a while if you get bored, putting the warp towards the tube emu spectrum comes out pretty well with a used battery, nice compressed semi muddy sludge tone to your playing. lskdjflsjd sweet I tell you, so I do that once in a while.

you will thank tech 21 and other reviewers to have mentionned the sweet singing character of this pedal.

(tranny peavey, goes well with my ehx clone, and/or ECHO PARK, and really adds a cool factor being fuzzed along with my new family member...mid-fi RANDOM COMPUTER GLITCH...which is texture party avant-garde pedal. have a compressor pedal too, but this thing compresses itself already in its own beautifully unique way, so don't need that in combo, that'd be limiting this baby's own Mariah tone. I also once sported a dod and digitech Grunge pedal...which is my preference in perhaps trying to nail other people's tones particularly the nineties sound. obvious,neh?)

ah ah ah...perhaps, not as hardcore as the random glitch comp, grunge or perhaps soon new member effector13 smooth yellow fuzz, but it holds its own as its solid performer, I find above average. helps you find your character in your leads. YES YOUR OWN CHARACTER.

perhaps a ten it CAN DESERVE. but I'll leave that til tech21 improve the tone spectrum (get your own sep. eq , and drive beyond 3 oclock isn't always best, between 1 and 2 is optimal before some annoying hiss starts to dial in). thank you. I love you mom and your mom.

used. hardcore. butofcourse, do not perform physical sex with it and expect it to work the next day...if so or too late...good luck anyway.
up to you if you want to feed it to your dog. hasn't failed me yet.

email. respond fast. helpful, and does great pub rel. responses. thanks tech 21. just make more kick ass pedals one day?

its cool on its own, one of my favorite moments is that my friend had this christian family event where he had to play a song for these kids 30 strong choice hahaha that was hilarious...he's like playing something that has the feel of I love rock n' roll thingymajig, and yeah everytime he'd pause after a good fifth chord and mute the strings, there like a weird delay or decay or noise gate that comes in...(like play E5 twice and stop and muted with palm) then there this huge sucking up sound, sort of bass oriented, very weird but very powerful quality lol like as if the speaker wanted to suck you in? hahaha...oh yeah, big time AURAL SEX BABY!!!

don't know what type of music that you play...but this pedal is definitely awesome if you get away with steal, as in ebay, unless you'd wanna join inmatedatingpersonals.com.

this pedal helped me write my leads, and even some of my new material.
this baby sings. perhaps if you got a better technique, it will sing out more, because I know it only pushes me further with my playing as an occassional lead.

also, I suggest messing with your tone knob on you guitar, it does wonders, I don't get frustrated when people put this down or bitch how bad or muddy this may get leadwise (mug plus rhythm can be a good thing ;)) but its a simple and yet golden secret solution. people can be such dolts at time...ugh...it pains me.

so remember. play with tone knob. less it more with the drive knob...something for tech 21 to look at for future referrence. I like noise thus compelling me to buy some fuzz (this is 6/10 for the experience has its uses, but if you want fuzz character which I find is great for everything else texturewise but NOT ALWAYS FOR LEAD).

YOU WANT A PERSONALIZED LEAD SOUND? LOOK NO FURTHER.

ps.I'd thrast/bomb this review if I wanted to keep this secret. being a nice soul and all, I'd wanna support and salute those who'd want to rock!!!

-Yuri

Depending on what guitar\pickups combination you have and what sort of amp you use, there are a wide range of possibilities in this box. If you want a straight fuzz box, you should probably try something else, especially if you are looking for scooped mids. The contols are fairly straightforward and elusive at the same time. The gain has a lot of boost and I use it to either provide unity gain or a little boost. The tone knob is very sensitive and makes a huge difference with just a little turn. Tech 21 products in general have eq controls that really have a lot of gain so small adjustments and then playing for awhile and listening carefully is the best approach. The warp control is the most subjective and elusive as it doesn't seem to change the harmonic balance that radically but seems to alter the compression qualities. Drive has a pretty wide range of distortion and should be set according to how much your amp is already distorting and your mood.

I use mostly strat type guitars with Duncan pickups installed. The bridge pickups are usually JB, AH, or JB juniors. The middle and bridge pickups are anything from stock Fender to split rails duckbuckers or the newer Fender noise cancelling single coils like on the new Jeff Beck Strat. It is very quiet and has no pops or clicks from the switch. My normal amp is a Hot Rod Deluxe set for a clean smooth sound with the tone controls set flat or with slight mid boost.I have played through many small and medium fender amps all over the west coast in various blues jams and found I could get my sound as long as the amp was working normally. I my opinion, Tech 21 didn't market this box correctly. They should have sold it as a box that would get a Marshall sound out of any small to medum Fender amp, especially the famed "Bluesbreaker" tone Clapton got on the "Beano" album. I traveled with only this and a cheap Charvel strat with the Duncan pickups for years and most players were shocked that I could make their amps sound like that. Another killer feature is that it will always feed back and sustain on the second harmonic and hang in there with extreme whammy bar drops-always in complete control. The other cool feature is that when you turn down the volume on your guitar, the distortion cleans up considerably and gives a slightly roughed-up rhythm sound but with no muddyness. It is very responsive to dynamics and has a big variation in tone depenging on how hard you pick, especially with the volume backed off on the guitar. It makes the distortion more animated and "alive" with swirl and harmonic shift like no other box I ever tried. Oddly enough, as others have noticed, it sounds best with a dying battery.

I bought it when it first came out and it died after about a half hour of playing. I sent it to Tech 21 and got it back about 10 days later. It has never failed again.

I met Andrew Barta, the designer at a Namm show in 1999. a cool guy and super intellegent. He told me that they test all designs with Duncan humbuckers for tone. He admitted that the box didn't sell too well and that yes, they could have marketed it as a box to turn a Fender into a Marshall but that it wouldn't have made the amp companies very happy. When I asked him about the Warp knob, he was kinda vague and when I asked him how the circuit worked, he clammed up. You can't blame him for not revealing trade secrets. He did talk to me for a long time, however which is not the usual thing at the Namm show if you are just a regular guy crusing the show on a borrowed pass and not from a big music chain or a rock star. Hats off to him and his company.

I play a lot of blues jams and can play fairly straight blues if I want but tend to wander into the netherworld occupied by Jeff Beck, Allan Holdsworth, Robben Ford, Robin Trower or early Clapton but not copying any of them. I have been playing 40+ years and have owned or borrowed just about eveything ever made. I always work to get a sweet, musical tone and in my opinion it is the most musical sounding distortion box ever. I am probably going to get a spare soon as they don't make 'em anymore and I can't get my sound without it. The led could have been a little brighter but that would probably draw the battery down faster. It does seem to work best when plugged straight into an amp or amp simulator like a Sansamp which comes alive when they are used together.

After I sold the first unit (no real use for it since I expected fuzz), I bought one back as I'm in a cover band again as well and I remembered the good sustain it had.
I also like to have non-mainstream pedals ...

I use it for lead work in moderate rock songs (think Bryan Adams and such).
Gain at max (i.e. 3 o'clock, anything further just adds mud) pushing a Laney LC15 or LC50 MkII tube amp set on clean. Gives a nice Marshallish gain.
I use it exclusively with my Carvin Bolt (strat type) in that band.
I use other pedals for other types of gain.

The pedal is probably too much for blues players, there is some very noticeable gain even with gain on zero. I think there are better pedals for blues anyway.
On the other hand it's too mild for the heavier stuff (metal heads, even moderate ones, don't waste your money).
People who call this a fuzz pedal probably never have oned a real fuzz.
There is ZERO ! fuzz in this pedal compared to my ZVex factory, DOD FX52 and DHA fuzzes.

I don't like it that much for rythm. A bit undefined/mushy.
Sustain is good like I said already. I still need to use a delay FX for lead though.

At the gain levels I use it, the warp only has a very subtle effect. I prefer it turned completely to the left, 07:00
The effect is more noticeable at low gain settings, but it remains subtle.
And no way you could ever notice any difference in a band situation.

From what my ears tell me, the tone knob is a trebble cut in the range 12:00 to 05:00
Below it acts differently but I never use that range anyway ...

I like the smooth switching, without any hard point to pass.
The LED dimms when the battery gets empty but it's rather hard to tell since it isn't that bright to begin with.
The pedal looks (and is) very sturdy. Extremely lightweight just like all Tech21 products.
My pedal board (and my back) want to thank Tech21 for this.
Certainly dependable.

I think the pedal is quite transparent. It doesn't really have its own sound which is a good thing.
Depends a lot (and I mean it) on amp and guitar unlike other distortion boxes.
It doesn't work that well with my time FX (currently Ibanez DE-7 delay and Jacques chorus), seems they fight against each other a bit. I have pedals that work better with them.

There are certainly other ways to use this pedal which take better advantage of the different controls.
For instance I can see how it would suit some specific type of Jazz like a guy said below.

I can't rate it. IMO it's one of the better pedals on the (now used) market though.
It's a mixture of hype and real qualities.
(I'm quite surprised by all the raving reviews below)
Sustain and relative transparency are its best features.

I like Tech21 products even if I always end selling them. Weird.
Had a sansamp classic (pre reissue) which I sold a fortune. Thank you Kurt Cobain.
And the Tri-A.C. would have been the best pedal I EVER ran accross if it had had more gain.

I'm 40 playing 20 years. By no means a pro player but I play everything, really.
From folk to techno/electro to metal to boys bands ...
I also play synth.
Obviously, during this time I had (and still have) a ton of gear.
If you get past the Tech21 hype and use this pedal for what it seems to be (a decent medium gain distortion pedal), you'll probably find a use for it.
Any pedal that makes it on my pedal board is a good pedal.

Its fairly easy to get a good of it I'll go into more detail in the next section. The manual is pretty good ginving some good suggestions for sounds you might want to try and clear diagrams. Access to the battery is a bit of a pain, four screws to get in and I am not to impressed the way the battery it just wedged in under the PCB. Wouldn't have killed them to fit a plastic clip or something to hold it still at least

I use it with a Yamaha Pacifica 112 and sometimes a Fender Squire Jazz bass. Not a lot of people it is also designed to be used with bas guitars too which is one reason I bought it. Tech 21 do recommend you use it with their Bass Driver pedal though. As other people have said it does introduce a tiny bit of hum when being bipassed and I think it does take a little edge off the tone of the guitar, but I think that might be just as much to do with having extra ten feet of cable for the signal to pass through.

A lot of people have slated this pedal for sounding flat and unresponsive to adjustments of the controls and I thought the same at first until I tried it with a friends Mexican Strat. With that guitar and the volume turned down to say 5 it was fantastic. Yes it does add an incredible amount of gain and if you turn it up too much its sounds like mush regardless of what you do with the Warp control. But with the right guitar I got some great singing heavy blues sounds out of it. It doesn't do that just breaking up crunchy valve amp sound unless you turn your guitar down to two or three but when you need a wall of sound on some power chords or a wailing guitar solo its got it. Whats more its got finesse. Its far more sensitive to different pick-up settings and how you strike the strings then a lot of pedals out there. If you want to sound like the Darkness, Led Zepplin or Queen then this is the pedal for you. Warning if you already have powerful pickups particularly humbuckers I would give it a miss. Using it with a bass it gives more of a fuzz sound, which isn't the best, it is a bit flat though my old bass amp but through a modern amp powerful with a horn tweeter its much better and the fact you get two pedal for the price of one is a bonus.

It has worked fine so far

If you want to sound like the Darkness, Led Zepplin or Queen then this is the pedal for you. Warning; if you already have powerful pickups particularly humbuckers I would give it a miss as. Using it with a bass it gives more of a fuzz sound, which isn't the best, it is a bit flat though my old bass amp but through a modern amp powerful with a horn tweeter its much better and the fact you get two pedal for the price of one is a bonus.

4 knobs, one switch. Just takes a bit of experimentation with the warp control to certain tones.

Tanglewood Tomkat > Morley Wah > Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde OD > XXL > V-amp 2 > Laney Hardcore

This thing sounds awesome! It's a fairly unique pedal, in that it's high gain, but not necessarily as scratchy-sounding as many gainy pedals. I really do like the warp control, I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes it sound as though you're using valves, it doesn't totally nail the 'sag' but it IS close, warms the tone up quite nicely when open, or can give that transistor sound, should you want it, when closed. The best thing about it is that it's an extra layer of tonal sculpting, which you can use in conjunction with the tone and gain to get loads of different tones - I can find anything from drivey 70's blues, chunky rock rhythm, vintage fuzz to thrash. Which is nice.

It does have to be said it's very gainy, but it wouldn't have a name like XXL if it wasn't, would it?

Finally, no it's not true bypass, but there's no discernable hum with the pedal off at bedroom volume. At gig levels, there's nothing a bit of gating won't fix.

would be 10/10 if the warp did exactly as it said on the tin.

I've never heard of a problem with Tech 21, the chassis and case are made from feeling durable steel, all sockets and pots are high quality, and the soldering is immaculate.

Never needed to deal with them, doubt i'll ever have to.

I play anything from jazz and blues to thrash and industrial. This thing's too gainy for the former pair, but that's not what i bought it for. As far as rock and metal go, it's excellent at giving that thick-sounding disortion.

It wouldn't get stolen because i wouldn't let anybody get near enough to steal it.

You need to do some experimenting to set this up (like Mesa Boogie amps). Once you've got the right balance (primarily between the Tone on your amp and the Tone/Warp/Drive on the XXL) it's a doddle to use.

Mostly playing LPs. Dialled in for its party trick - the bloom+sustain Warp thing - it sounds amazing. If you like to use slow bends, adding emotional feel with vibrato, the extra change in tone you get on sustained notes is fantastic to play around with. I've never heard anything like it in a cheap stomper.

I run my XXL into a MB Studio preamp (with no other pedals) when the preamp is set on the Lead channel with a little drive (like a mild blues edgy overdrive) and this then adds the over-the-top legato-style solo tone. Awesome :)

There's something about the Mesa's Lead channel that works with it really well - to cut the highs. Because, if I switch to the Mesa's Clean channel with the XXL switched in, it sounds terrible. So basically I've got the two things set up for 3-channels: Clean, Edgy Overdrive, Sustainy Lead.

Like others have said - there's still a LOT of gain with the Drive at minimum (it's not a clean boost pedal). I mostly have it at about 12oclock. But the type of distortion is voiced wrong for HM, so I can see why some people won't like it.

I'd give it 10 for its party trick but I've got to take off 3 because it has a bug - it's not true bypass and when switched off there's a distinct fizz low in the mix. This f*cks up the clean tone if recording, but isn't noticeable live. I'll hack the pedal to add a true DPDT bypass switch soon.

Fine

Never dealt with them - no need to.

As a rule I don't like stompboxes for distortion. But I dug this out of the bits box and it was far better than I remembered it. I'd love to have an amp that could bloom/sustain like this at living room levels. It's not perfect, and it's not for everyone, but does deliver.

Pretty easy.

High gain tubey sound. Do not get this for "amp just breaking up" sounds.
The warp knob is great: full to the right you get an excellent thick sagging sound and thick compression. I run in into a sans amp bass driver for both guitar and bass.
This is the only only thing I know about that gets anywhere near that Neil young arc weld guitar-sag amps melting sound.
With warp on full, bass freqs are boosted and the slightly unusual tone control (past 12 oclock it cuts bass freqs) becomes useful for cutting the bottom if its too much.
With the warp set flat its a more normal heavey overdrive sound.

Doom/sludge metalists etc should check this out, downtuned its thunderous.

Into a sansamp its a really warm thick fuzzy sound. Naked into a solid state bass amp its brighter/tinnier.

Other reviews say its reative to different amps. so beware maybe?

so far very solid

Great heavy overdrive, with the excellent ability to simulate amplifier sag and compression.

Easy to use. No matter where the knobs are set. I don't like the sound.

Used with tech 21 trademark 10 amp and single coil guitar. I don't like the sound I get wit this pedal. Even with the gain all the way down it still has too much gain. Turning down the guitar's volume helps, but it does not clean up as well as a Blacktone Mosfet overdrive. The higher gain settings sound almost too full - not much room for notes to come through. The warp knob is all hype. it's supposed to switch between even and odd harmonics or amp "sag" - whatever! turned all the way to the right and the sound just loses the high end on the attack of the note. as the note sustains the high end comes back. with the knob all the way to the left the sound is thinner sounding. Half way in between and you're right in the middle of two not very good sounds.

Very reliable. I can always depend on it to give me a sound I don't like.

I haven't had to contact them.

I wanted either a natural sounding low gain overdrive or an over the top maxed-out fuzz. I recently replaced the XXL with a Blackstone Mosfet overdrive for low gain overdrive and a Frantone Creme Puff for fuzz. Both pedals are great and have the sounds I wanted. Tech 21 has other products I really like - trademark 10 amp, bass and acoustic guitar direct boxes. But this pedal is all PR hype and not the sound I want. I heard a couple of short mp3 sound files of the pedal on the tech 21 web site and they must have a guitar and amp that must work with this pedal better than mine does. this pedal does not fit with my set up. Test this pedal out before spending money on it. I bought it over the internet because I read tech 21's hype and their sound files sounded good. My set works great with the Blackstone and frantone. My set up sound just as good as Blackstone's sample sound files. That makes me not believe tech 21's demo files.

This is also my second review. I'd written this thing off. But I tried it in the clean channel of a Peavey Rockmaster, just to have a different distortion sound than the Rockmaster's Crunch and Ultra. But I'm kind of amazed at how I'm liking it BETTER than the Crunch and Ultra channels of the Rockmaster. I keep telling myself this can't be. I mean, IT'S A PEDAL. What i discovered is, the Tone knob on the XXL - at least in my set-up - has to be rolled way back to about 8:00 o' clock (Presence and High on the Clean channel are at 12:00 o' clock. Lows too. Mids about 1:00.) The presence on my power amp is full. The other key is setting the Warp to neutral, at the 2 arrows < >. I don't know, I'm dumbfounded by it but I like it.

I've had it for about 10 years. I notice when I leave the Drive knob in one position too long it develops a scratchiness in that spot. Soon eliminated by moving the knob back and forth.

I'm playing rock, pop, hard rock. I have another amp, a Marshall Artist 3203, and the way I have this pedal set-up reminds me of the Artist's sound, which is kind of nice because I can now access that sound without having to haul an extra head.

Well lets see, distortion/overdrive pedal, and 4 knobs, hmm?? What is so hard about that? Okay, I admit the WARP knob is a little difficult to get used to, but a little fiddling and some patience is all it takes to find some killer tones.

Well this is my 2nd review for this product, but my last one was made like 3 years ago, so I thought I would update my review with some new facts. My set up currently consists of either a G&L S-500, a Godin LG, or a Godin SD then on to a Tech 21 Killer Wail (good aound, bad manufacturing) or Crybaby535Q then into a Boss OC-2 octave, a Boss TU-2 tuner, Boss CS-3 compression sustainer, Ibanez TS-10 tubescreamer, Ibanez MT-10 metal charger (i think)(Oingo Boingo sound), into a Boss HM-3 hyper metal, Tech 21 XXL (OH BABY), Boss DD-3 digital delay, Boss DM-2 analog delay, Ibanez CF-10 chorus/flanger, Boss CE-2 chorus, and Boss PH-1R phaser into a Marshall JCM 900 SLX 50 watt head and JCM 900 slant cab. Then in the effects loop i have a Boss RV-3 reverb/delay. The XXL is my main dist. box. The sound does change with every amp and guitar I use, it builds on the tone of the two not change them like Boss dist boxes do. Definitely sounds better with tube amps like my TS-10.
It has a very distinct one that sags like a tube, when playing rythms it can sometimes be a little muddy but over all great sound.

I have used this pedal for a little over 3 years now and have had no problems, anyways it was built in the USA so I doubt I will have any problems with it built like a tank. I gig without a backup.

never had to use them for this pedal but I have with my killer wail wah and they have been nothing but helpful.

I play a range of music from Jazz, fusion, blues, FUNK (most of my original music), rock, metal, and alternative (the remainder of my music) and the XXL has been my standby always one of the first pedals my foot goes for on my pedal board, my TS-10 being the second.
If lost I would search hi and low for another and would murder anyone who stole it from me. I love the smooth sound it gets, and even with the drive at 0 it still crunches like none else.
This pedal even with the gain cranked still has clarity of notes that hardly anyother pedals can even touch, especially Boss's distortion/overdrive pedals which all are extremely muddy. The warp is so engenious i is a classic rock/hendrix blues in the middle of its set 12 o'clock or so and cranked all the way up it sounds almost like a synth with my flanger and with tapping arppegious.
Definitly the best dist on my board.

This pedal is pretty hard to use. Even though i have been playing electric guitar for only 8yrs, i can tell when a pedal is easy or hard to use, and this one is a lil touchy one. The warp knob needs good ear training ;) and the manual included isnt very reliable, you have to play with the pedal alot to understand all its possibilities.

I am using a Ibanez Talman guitar(really crappy), plugged into the XXL, then in a BOSS HyperMetal, into a Peavy Classic CHorus 212 75W rms.

First of all, THE SOUND OF THE XXL DEPENDS ALOT ON YOUR GUITAR and AMP!! i have tried with my friends equipment and the sound wasnt the same at all. so ill just go with my setup. The pedal itself has a very warm fuzz, even more when the WARP knob is at 75-100%, giving a mellow and crispy meltdown on harmonics. You really need to hear this: ITS YUMMIE!! but i found out the only way to get the best of this feature is using it plugged BEFORE a distortion pedal. It sounds like a tube amp cranked to maximum drive. Gives warmth to a cold and crunchy distortion, like the hyper metal or any other boss distortion.if used without other effects, the pedal has too much a high-pitch sound and really hurts my ears. but that may be only because of my amp. so its hard to tell. i hate the tone knob; it either cuts too much high notes or sharpens it too much. the drive knob gives a nice distortion, but cant be used to play chords cause its too noisy. when i play using only the XXL fx pedal, i find the sound to be too flat. but REALLY, the pedal should be used to enhance the warmth of any distortion pedal, and should be plugged betwin the guitar and the dist pedal youre using, assuming you wont turn the xxl's drive knob too high. I LOVE IT

the pedal alone gives a good sound for blues, brit-rock, reminds me alot of SUBHUMANS sound, old school punk. but with the hyper metal(dist knob at 25%), i get a really nice Billie JOe ARmstrong or any new school punk sound easily, with the warmth of low distorttion/high gain tube amp sound.

Oh yeh. the metal box is so strong i could throw it down a f***in cliff and it still would be in mint condition. the electronics are high quality. everythings tightly packed: its a real SAFE

Nope. i heard its discontinued though... thats sad.

I play old school punk rock, experimental rock, rock n roll. its the perfect match! ive been playin for 8yrs and used the XXL for 4yrs. its been a fundamental element of my equipment. My fav feature is the sound of the pedal itself. i use the warp knob to where the arrow is and the drive button to 0. its uncomparable to any other stomp pedal. but you gotta love light dist. and harmonic meltdown.

The only reason I give it a 7 instead of a 10 is that it takes a while to suss out the Warp control and its interplay with the Tone control. Otherwise, it's straightforward -- totally so if you leave the Warp in its marked "neutral" position, which is what I've come to prefer. I like the attack and the chord clarity of that position.

70s Japanese (Moridairi) equipped with Duncan mini-HB neck PU, unknown (DiMarzio? Mighty Mite? Early 80s manufacture, at any rate) PAF-style HB at bridge. Guitar > XXL > Korg G3 > 80s Randall RG80. I had bought the little Korg floor unit for a few reasons: got a deal (NOS that the store couldn't move -- obsolete in terms of features, but I just wanted a little chorus & delay anyway), easy programmability (all knobs), great clean sounds -- really enhances already great clean sound of the RG80, & the quality of distortions & overdrives -- smooth & clear, VERY natural-sounding, BUT .... The Korh doesn't quite have enough "oomph" to its ODs and distortions. The "crunch" settings in the banks go up to about a Keith Richards dimed Ampeg VT22 sound -- great, but not quite up to fat power chord territory. And the high-gain "lead" settings don't quite make it to violin-sustain/jump-to-feedback sounds. OK, I needed a pedal.

I used a Tube Screamer for quite a while -- good match for the Korg, but with the usual TS mid-hump. No that I don't like mids, I love'em -- that's where the electric guitar lives, and mids are essential for fat leads that cut through the mix. But the XXL *excells* at goosing already overdriven & distorted sounds while preserving basic tones. The string-to-string clarity for chording is also superior to the TS. The XXL does not mess with the richness or smoothness of the Korg's ODs and distortions. It complements them perfectly.

On its own, in front of the RG80 (a solid-state amp), there are a few things I discovered. This pedal likes VOLUME -- it sounds like crap at bedroom practice levels, but really takes off at gig levels. Sounds VERY tubey and bluesy in front of the RG80's blackface-like cleans. I imagine it would sound godly driving a tube amp. The Warp is subtle, but it does what it claims to do -- crank it counterclockwise for compressed, sustaining Brian May/Santana, clockwise for some pretty convincing vintage "sag & bloom." The Warp *will* affect EQ settings -- it interacts with the XXL's tone control in a way that requires some tweaking. Watch the tone control -- this unit is bright. It most definitely does not like very much presence-control snot from the already-bright RG80. It is also no good as a clean boost, as the absolute lowest gain setting already has a fair amount of dirt.

All in all, the XXL sounds great -- even driving an all-SS rig. In front of a full complement of tubes, I'd wager it would sound orgasmic.

Seems very rugged -- 1 point off for plastic jacks, although they work fine & should hold up nicely if you're not an ape on steroids with your gear.

Dunno, although Tech 21 seems like a cool company.

They don't make XXLs anymore, so I don't know if I'd take the trouble to hunt for another one if it was stolen. I'd certainly GET one if it were available, however, and I'd certainly check out Tech 21's current products. That programmable Tri-OD looks interesting ....

I bought this pedal used with a manual, but you dont't need one. With only four controls I let my ears do the walking.

The pedal has very high gain cirduitry. I read all of the other reviews and agree with only one. I've benn playing for over forty years and have owned just about every type of Distortion pedal or floor processor you can imagine. My two favvorites are a Korg AX 30 and this pedal. The pedal is not noisy and adds no new tones to your guitar. It sounds natural, which is what I wanted. I use it with either a Polytone Mini Brut IV , Fender Concert or Lab L-9 depending on my mood. It simply has a great overdrive. The warp contol to my mind is a compressor. My favorite position is to leave the DRIVE, and WARP at their lowest postion, move the Tone to the 9 o'clock position and adjust the Level to a little more than even gain with the switch on. I am a nut for sound quality, I own an Eventide GTR 4000, Digitech digital delay, rackmounted parametric equalizer and a Digech harmonizer. What can I say, I love it, it gives me the sound I have looked for and like.

I haven't owned it for long, but I do own one other TECH 21 Product, the SANSAMP, and it appears to be rugged. Tech 21 did not scrimp on parts for the XXL, the electronics are housed in a very rugged metal enclosure.

Don't know. No problems.

I play all types of music, but this pedal will be used for Rock & Roll and Blues. I would buy one again. It outshines any pedal I have owned in the past.

na

excellent see last, this is a revision.

very

I should revise my previous and say that the customer support was very good. They sent me a pdf file of the manual.

I placed an earlier review some time ago. At that time I was impressed with this pedal. I am even more impressed now that I've had it a while. The sell it as emulating vintage tone which it does a good jobe at, however, where it EXCELS os as a preamp device. I recently purchased an old Silvertone 1472 tube amp. I plug in this pedal with my "muy grande" equipped strat and OH MY GOD!. You can't believe the tone. With warp all the way on and and frive off I get a wicked ACDC fat tone. Turn the guitar tone pot down and voila, "money for nothing. Turn warp allt way off and get VOX AC-30. It sings and sustains like you wouldn't belive. Again with warp off I turn the guitar vol pot to 5-6 and I get a singing, sutain-happy Santana tone. I think this pedal differs from most other tech 21/sansamp products in that they emulate a tube amp where as this pedal complements a clean tube amp in the extreme. You can't get a really saturated MesaBoogie or nu-metal tone but thats not really the point here. They have discontinued the product but you can still get one on ebay. Also the current Tech 21 Double Drive does essenially the same thing with slight different nob function. If you want to add some zing to that old vintage tube amp of yours this pedal is for you!

No the most user friendly pedal I've ever come across, the tone, level and drive controls are self explanatory but warp? Has Mr Sulu designed a stomp box? It interacts more with the tone than the drive in my experience, its suposed to bosst and cut harmonics with a poition of about 10 o'clock for the nuetral setting.

Sounded terible with my Trademark 10 but fantastic with Les Paul and Fender Blues Junior.

I think it really thrives on Valves...

I give it a 10 for the sound with the blues Junior and 4 with the Trademark 10. So an average of 7 is awarded here....

Great pedal with the right Guitar / Amp but very ordinary with single coil guitars and solid state amps (not tried it with a digital amp yet.

Easy to use in the sense that it's a stomp box and what could be easier. The difficulty (and fun) lies in playing around with all the knobs (including your guitar volume and tone) in order to get the sound you want. It this respect it's very versatile

I'm plugging in a custom made fender strat with Muy Grande pickups. Sometimes I play through a digitech RP-5 in order to add compression, chorus, etc and sometimes straight through to a crate G40 CXL. Either way this pedal sounds great. I can go from an almost Metallica crunch to a farty "money for nothing" tone depending on the combination of settings. The warp knob really does affect your tone if you get a feel for it. The X-factor is really affected by the tone setting on the box and on your guitar. You also have to experiment with playing style as this will make a difference. Once you get a sense for all of tne subtle nuances of this pedal you really can get a beautiful tone.

I have only had it a couple of weeks but I bought is used on ebay.These things came out in '97 or so. I guess it's lasted this long and I haven't had any problems with is.

Not much experience with the telephone support but I have emailed a couple of times and gotten no response.

I love this pedal. It's been fun playing with all the settings and seeing what kind of tone I can get. It is extremeley versatile and yield a very (several very) tube-like distortion for those of us who can't afford a tube amp. It sound awesome when I run it throught my RP-5 (which has been criticized on the site for it's bad distortion) and add effects. All around a fun, fun, fun pedal with a great sound.

Very smooth overdrive on most positions.
No real distortion, and certainly no fuzz.
This may be due to myself using batteries rather than
an adaptor. I believe that slightly different voltages
will have a big change of tonal characteristics.

The sound I was able to dial in were good, nothing to rave about
and certainly not as good as my Laney TF300 preamp.
I agrea that it is very analogue sounding, way different from
digital distortions. Sustain is REALLY incredible.
I also agree on the dynamics and sensitivity : this pedal lets
your playing technique really shine through.
I wanted fuzz. I haven't found anything usable for me :
when cranking the gain knob past 3:00 you have harsh distortion
Before you have creamy, smooth overdrive.

VERY nice people.
The marketing manager responded within 24 hours to my mail.
Top notch !
I'll certainly check all their production line.

I don't want to come and fart among all these raving reviews but I'd like to give my opinion as well :
I've had this pedal for a couple of months and sold it recently.
Whereas it sounds good it doesn't sound great.
There's NOTHING spectacular about this pedal.
I repeat : NOTHING SPECTACULAR
It's a good overdrive in a box but most preamps
will sound better. (even my shitty Laney does, excepted
for the smooth sustain this pedal provides)

The warp knob does nothing special.
I can hear a slight effect and as other people mentioned
to my ears, it's a compressor effect rather than anything else.
(When you use heavy gain you won't hear any effect at all).
I've tested the pedal under several of situations with several
completely different guitars, amps, direct, headphones, digital preamps, ...)
Used in combination with my Sansamp classic it does nothing
the SA classic doesn't. They don't compliment very well.
The XXL seems redundant in this situation.

I don't hate anything about this pedal.
It's just that I don't need it.
I wanted to get a fuzz pedal to compliment my gear
and it's NOT the kind I needed.

I highly recommend it for smooth, creamy and sustaining lead play,
especially if you're an analogue snob :=)

I like Tech21 products.
I have the original Sansamp and I intend to get the Tri-AC for live play (I liked the way it sounded direct into the PA at the store). And I'd like to find a deal on the PSA-1 (currently going used for 450?). I'll buy one when they drop to 300? ...

Super easy for me. Put everything at 12 o'clock except the level knob, that should be at about 11 o'clock. The manual is very good and gives you many different options to start with.

This pedal kicks so much a$$! It sounds great on every bass rig i've ever played thru (using my 1978 Fender Jazz). The old bass player in my band took this pedal from me to use because it was the ONLY distortion pedal he ever played thru that retained low end and still cut the overall mix with smooth crunch.
On guitars it is equally powerful. Although it never sounded good to me on my 1973 Fender Dual Showman. Right now i'm using it exclusively on my Matchless Spitfire clone that i built. Just perfect tone. Sounds like a Vox AC15 but with so much more gusto. That's the word for this pedal: Gusto. I have also used it on a 1958 Gibson GA-30 amp. The tone of the GA-30 is already pretty dark. With the XXL it just got bigger and darker than any amp i've ever heard. A great contrast for my amp arsenal.
Guitars used: 1998 Gison SG standard. 1989 Fender Strat. A Strat I built with Hot Rails and Fender Lace pickups. 1978 Fender Jazz bass.

Built like a small tank.

I have two of these pedals and one had a circuit problem. I sent it to them and they repaired it for $40. But it was worth it. And they guaranteed the work.

The pedal sounds great with rock, punk and metal. The overdrive can get pretty thick which i don't really prefer. Too much of the WARP knob sounds like total amplifier sag. This is a good thing when used properly.
I've used this on bass, guitar and even vocals for recording and the pedal has always done what i expect. Great tone, great tube amp emulation.

If you read the manual, you're find a good examples of how to get good sounds to begin, and specially, the use of the warp. Without the manual, would be difficult. Like all products with special features (warp), takes some time to get used with it.

I'm using basically a Gibson LP Special (SD Antiquity's humbuckers) and a 62'RI Strat, with a 68'Fender SR Blackfaced. Is very quiet on lower drive, not noisy at all, but some noise start when you pass twelve o'clock. But you must consider that this pedal offers a lot of overdrive, even if it was on zero drive, you will get an AC/DC "Back in Black" sound.
To get a Marshallesque tone, I need an equalizer to mid the boost, because my SR has lots of low end and highs, but not mid enough to kick ass like marshalls. But if you're looking for Mesa Boggie sounds, this pedal had it. The Fuzz Face is good, but I don't use it so much. The warp control is good to emulate a Class A tube overdrive (think on Vox AC30), a Marshall/Mesa Boogie (class A/B amps) or a sag sound a la Neil Young.
I had an exaustively comparison between the XXL and a Bottle Rocket Mesa Boogie of a friend of mine (US$200 tube overdrive, twice the price of the XXL), and the sound was almost identical in some settings. The Mesa was a little bit warm, because of the dynamic range of tubes, instead of solid state in XXL, but the XXL was more clean when I turn down the volume of the guitar. With a help of an GE7 (Boss equalizer), I can get all the tones I want, included the "woman tone" (intro of "Sweet child o'mine"), just have to boost the mids, bass on the middle point, and turn down a little the highs. Without the equalizer, I can't get that tone because of the logarithmic (I think) behaviour of the tone control, but with the equalizer, it's no problem. When I use the strat, I turn the warp control in minimum, and with the LP, in the double arrows. Bottom line, this pedal has TONE and TUBE FEEL like no other in that price range. I always forget that there's no tube inside of the unit.

It's very strong and well built, but the DC position isn't well located, and I need to unscrew the bottom faceplate to replace the battery, so if I'm on stage, it's difficult. If you use a DC, you don't need a backup.

I know the people on Tech21 are great.

I play classical music, jazz, bossa nova, classic and hard rock, pop. For what I play, and with my gear, is a perfect match. I've playing for about 15 years, and I have a 68 Fender Super Reverb (blackfaced), a Gibson GA10 (50's tweed class A tube amp), a 57'Gibson ES125 with 2 P90's and a Bigsby talpiece (my favorite guitar), a USA 62'RI Fender Stratocaster, a Gibson Les Paul Special with Seymour Duncan humbucker Antiquity's, a Ibanez SA100 (ES335 copy), a Jim Dunlop Cry Baby, a SD1 Super Overdrive Boss, a boss CE5 (Chorus Ensemble), a GE7 equalizer, and a VP500 Yamaha volume pedal. I would buy it again if it were stolen, or would try the TRI AC, the GT2 and the Double Drive. What I love on this pedal, is the dynamic and capability to traduce the intensity of my playing, the different sounds I can get using the guitar volume, and the tube feel. I've compared to a Mesa Boogie Bottle Rocket, a Vox overdrive, a lot of Boss overdrive and distorsions, and this is by far the best at this range of price. I wish it had a equalizer included, but would be on another price. This pedal changed my way of play, now I am more focused on get overdrive when I need, to accentuated the intensity of phrasing on my solos and even rhythm, using the guitar volume or playing soft to get clean, and hard to get overdrive.

This pedal is all about tube sag...like Hendrix Live. The thing is
just old style compressed tone that is on the verge of "De-Construction. The manual is good.

I first used this pedal with an ART SGX2000 pre-amp for a more
"natural sound", when I was recording my first album. The XXL adds
air around each insturment.
I am currently using it now and then in my live set-up of Bad Horsie 2
Electric Mistress and NS-2. The sound of this pedal is VERY Unique!

I have been using this box non-stop for seven years. No problems.
I trust it on any gig without backup.

I have never had a problem with this box. I have spoken to
the sales people at Tech 21 and they are nice and friendly.

I am playing in a great band. We produce the best metal and pop
music ever! This pedal is used only now and then to spice a solo.
The XXL is unique in it's tone flavor. It does have a big volume boost
even with the level at 7 or 8 o'clock. I think this box excels at lead
work and solo lines. When hitting chords it is muddy.

Level, Tone, Warp, Drive. Ste them all an 12 o'clock for a good starting point. Anyone who can't figure it out doesn't have a brain.

I use it with the best amp of all time, a '78 HIWAT DR 103 (and sometimes a '69 Marshall SLP 100 or a '65 VOX AC 30 TB). Guitars are a '78 Gibson LP Custom, Gibson SG with P-90, Rickenbacker 350, '67 Gretsch Double Anniversary and some Fender (Strat, Tele and Jaguar).

I use a lot of stompers (MJM London Fuzz, Klon centaur, Cornish Rangemaster, Fuldrive 2 and lots of others).

To put it short, the XXL (stupid name) is pure magic.

This highly underrated pedal has got to be one of the best distortion devices of all time. Don't be fooled by some of the reviewers here, who "tested" it with small transistor combos or the likes.

This is a high gain stomper, I use it with the Drive at zero! It has a lush, pristine high end sparkle all of it's own. Doesn't colour your basic tone (no mid hump) and let's the beauty of a good guitar and a good tube amp shine throuhg. It is very touch responsive and cleans up beautiful if you back down your guitar volume.

Another big plus is, that it doesn't cut the bass. A lot of pedals sound thin and buzzy, but not this one. It leaves all the low end intact.

Contrary to what has been said here, the warp effect isn't subte at all! It is a very pronounced effect, anyone who can't here it is either stone deaf or has equipment like shit.

The warp knob is in the neutral podition at 12 o'clock. Turn it up and it compressesand sags like an old hard driven Fender combo with a tube rectifier. Sounds a lot like Neil Young ("Cortez the Killer"). A great setting for solos, but can be a bit too much for rhythm.

Turn the warp counter clockwise and it compresses more gently, not unlike a Vox.

I leave the warp in the neutral position at 12 o'clock, because I like my guitar sound big and chunky.

The XXL has a buffered bypass, I couldn't hear any unwanted coloration when the padal is off.

The switch is a bit weak and makes a popping sound sometimes, but nothing to worry about. Rock'n Roll.

I have it since 10 years or so, never had any problem. It is of solid construction (PCB) - not like a BOSS, but ok.

Never dealt with them.

I play since 30 years. I've had so much equipment that I hardly remember all the stuff. This one is a keeper. If you're looking for a high gain hard rock sound (not the scooped metal type), look no further. If you find one used, by it - you won't regrett it.

Pretty simple, just takes time to match it up properly with your gear

I have a Fender Prosonic which already has a wicked drive channel (very Mesa like)so I use this to drive my clean channel for a tottally saturated singing, saggin compressed Neil Young sound and it nails it in spades. The warp control is the key to this sound. I find once you have a great basic sound you can push it over the top with the warp.But it does take a fair amount of fiddlin to get there.I love it for that sound and don't really use it for anything else and certainly not all the time (only when I feel urge to squeal like Neil)

1 year-no prob

don't know

Excellent for the sound mentioned above. I use different drive, dist, fuzz pedals for different sounds. One pedal doesn't do it all as far as I know. Besides its fun collecting pedals (cheaper than amps or guitars) I suggest you try it out if you can find one for under $100

How easy to use? Got a brain?

Marshall and an old Tubeworks(both tube).Its a Fuzz box= noisy(not excessive).This is the BEST fuzz box for the neck pickup that I have ever tried.Hendrix playing the blues is the tone you get out of this thing.

I hope so.I am plannig to keep it for eternity.Backup?I any't no Carlos santana.If this goes,I will have to wip out my trusty Boss dS 1.

Generally speaking,costomer support on this type of product is poor and not very forthcoming.(understandbly since they are dealing with one of the most egotistical self-centered souls on the planet.Guitar players!)

It is chocking to read some of the things us peace loving musicians will do to our fellow musicians.I will find the person who stole the box,tell him that I forgive him for his moment of weakness,and plitely ask him to return it to me.When he is bent over to pick up the box,I will jam up guitar neck right up his ass,up to the 12th fret!yeah baby!

This pedal have four controls: level, tone, warp and drive. It's easy to use but you have to take time to know the warp control. Somepeople say that this feature is not appreciate, in fact at first my opinion was the same. But when you take a time with this control you know the importance of the control. Basiclly is this: in the right position you achieve a fuzz sound and in the left position you achieve a overdrive-fuzz sound(in the middle you get another overdrive-fuzz sound)

I think that is more a fuzz-overdrive than a distortion pedal. The sound is very good, warm, with a lot of harmonics and the most important: you hear your natural guitar sound. But it depends on what amplifier do you conect this pedal. I conect it to a Egnater TOL50 combo with a strat plus deluxe guitar and the sound is wonderful. To get a idea of the sound you can think on Hendrix, David Gilmour or Robben Ford sounds. But I try to conect the pedal to a Roland Cube40 amp and it sounds pretty bad. I also conect it to a sinmarc transistors amp and the sound is pretty good. The only thing bad is than you can't reduce the drive sound although you turn the drive control control left.

I play a lot of styles and have been playing for 10 years. I also have a digitech rp-12(bad distortions if you don't use the EQ) and a engl 350 preamp(good distortion but not as classic and "vintage" sound as the XXL). I have played with some distortions (that I haven't owned) like the boss MT-2, ibanez fat cat, zoom 505,zoom 404040, etc and I didn't like this distortions very much. I think the XXl is a great pedal.

This pedal is fairly easy to use. 4 Controls - Level, Tone, Warp & Drive. Pretty self explanatory.

I switch back and forth between Les Paul Junior's and Japanese Strat reissues. All fitted with Seymour Duncan Hot Rail pickups (Yes, my Junior has a Hot Rail in it as well). Sonically, all my guitars are big sounding to begin with. Add the XXL to the mix and the possibilities are endless.The trick to this pedal is using your guitars volume to control everything.

My signal chain is as follows: an original Digitech Whammy, Clyde Wah, XXL, Boss Flanger, TC Chorus, Line Modulation Pedal, Boss Chorus pedal, Boss DD5, Line 6 Delay and a Boss Noise Gate. All pedals are powered with an Voodoo Labs Pedal Power except the Wah, the TC Chorus and the Line 6 boxes.

Is the pedal noisy ? Yes and no. While engaging the pedal you'll hear a slight "clip". It will make your amp hiss a bit as well, but what loud amp does'nt hiss. This is why I have a Noise Suppressor.

This pedal will interact with amps differently. With small practice combos, the pedal is a bit overkill. This pedal definitely needs to be fed into a clean amp. Then again I'm part of that school plays clean and uses a box for my "heavy" sound. I run two Marshall JCM 800's (Model #2203) and plug into the "low" input. This allows me to have a loud clean tone - It's the Smashing Pumpkins trick that I've been doing for years. So when I kick in the XXL, you definitely know that it's on. Just an incredible rich tone, with gigantic harmonics and massive punch.

For those of you looking for that Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" tone, this pedal will nail it. And like I said before, you can vary the tone with just a roll of the volume knob. A very solid sounding Distortion box.

I've had this pedal for about 4 years now. No problems at all. One of the better built pedals out there.

This is the only pedal I take to the gig.

Never had to deal with Tech 21. If this pedal broke, I would just go out and buy another one.

I play all different types of music. Primarily, I play Alternative
music. My influences are Steve Stevens during his time w/Billy Idol, Robert Smith from the Cure, John McGeoch's work with Siouxie and the Banshees and bands such as the Church and Echo and the Bunnymen.

For what I do, this pedal allows me to do what I need to get done. When pushed, the tone is completely volatile and aggressive, but yet still musical. I needed something that would give me night and day between my settings. When I play clean, the tone is very dreamy and watery -depending on what modulation effect is currently engaged at that moment and my dirty tone is complete anarchy. Basically, my tone will say "l love you" and then turn around at moments notice and tell you to "F**k off".

I've had about every distortion box ever made. I chose this box on a whim actually. I read a review and decided to pick one up. Compared to other boxes this one had the most gain. My thoughts on other various pedals:

The Boss DS1 - Too fizzy
The Boss Heavy Metal pedal - Not applicable in a real situation
The Fulltone Fulldrive - Not enough drive
Big Muff - Big disappointment - too wooly
The Creamy Dreamer - Not musical
Tube Screamer - What's the big fuss about this pedal ?

Hands down, the XXL is my favorite distortion box. It suits me fine. I would definitely buy this pedal over and over again. It's part of my musical DNA.

It does take a little tweaking... but there are four knobs -- not rocket science, but you have to give it a chance...
Some pedals "play it safe" by limiting the variation in sound availibility - thus they are "easier to use" for the whiners in the bunch ;) This pedal does not "play it safe"... so yes, you do have to tweak to get kewl sounds... but let's face it, if you just jumble your amp's knobs and try to play, it's going to sound like crap - does that mean your amp is hard to use? I digress...

One other complaint - the LED doesn't shine very brightly, even with a new battery... BUT, the unit I bought has a battery lid (this must be a change from original, since I see someone complaining about removing screws to change batteries in a prior review)--- this is something to lose/break... I would prefer just having to remove the four screws every few weeks... oh the pain, the pain ;)

I will base things on the Peavey Envoy (transtube) SS amp (set clean with a little fake power tube overdrive) with a Les Paul and EMG 81/85. I know it'll be 10x easier to get tone out of the Mesa Triaxis/90-90 setup.

First, as I said above, this pedal does not "play it safe" by only offering limited tweakability to one particular sound (yes, even the venerable TS808 is of this variety - you can't make it sound bad generally, but it has limited uses imho)... that said, you can get some terrible, farty-blatty tinny crap sounds out of the XXL if you don't tweak... I first plugged it in, left the Warp in the "safe zone" and got a pretty bland, tinny, farty sound...

I started playing with the Tone and Warp knobs (leaving the Drive at about 3 o'clock), and got some complex, very dynamic and musical distortions --- I own tons of pedals - the better ones, in my book, can really sound terrible if you are lazy and don't dial for awhile.
It's obvious that Tech 21 discontinued this pedal because the average user did not have the patience/prowess to find the tone in this very special little box.

After about 5 minutes, with Tone at 5 o'clock, Warp around noon-one and Drive at about 3 o'clock, I was jammin away with some nice, Noisy (yes, it's noisy---- but so is a cranked Marshall, Boogie, Soldano, Rivera, etc... folks! Be real!) Complex Compressed yet dynamic sweet harmonic sustaining distortion --- (very much like a pushed tube preamp)... Another pedal I own, Fulltone DP2, has similar qualities (the Fulltone is a lot more versatile... but at a price)- The Fulltone also has some complainers -- for the same reasons - it can sound bad due to it's tweakability and ability to go over the edge in all directions...

Bottom line - I love it and will probably try to grab another while they're still not too rare - it's unique and a keeper... can get some very Vai/Satriani/et al punchy, noisy, harmonic fun out of this puppy

Hmmmm.... not built like a Fulltone, has plastic in/out jack housings... but the box is the standard "Hammond 1590B" size box... It'll last with a little care - the knobs are not offset, so you don't want to throw it in a bag with guitar/mic stands, etc... and you don't want to jump up and down on it (well, other than the switch)... it seems to use an electronic "flip/flop" switch ciruit -- that is, the switch is single throw (momentary, like on Boss/Ibanez stuff)... so it should last longer than the mechanical double throw switces that go "click" every time you stomp... (ok, I prefer the fell of the mechanical double throw switch - you can tell when you hit it)

The LED doesn't shine too brightly....

I'd never rely on one pedal with no backup... you just never know... lightning strikes...

N/A

At $41, this was a steal... I can get sounds very comparable to some of the nastier, noisy, tube-ular shred tones that I get from the Fulltone Distortion Pro... I don't know what the list was, but even $100 would be a good value for me.... From a sonic perspective, I'd hand over my TS808 (if it weren't so damn collectible)before I'd give up this pedal... TS808 tone is all over these days... the XXL is more unique, more on-the-edge (or _over_ the edge) and way way way more amp/tube like imho....

I'd buy another one... ;)

No problem if you read the manual and understand what the "Tone" and "Warp" knobs do. Otherwise you might be a bit puzzled, because the "Tone" knob works a bit strangely and the "Warp" knob is subtle unless you know what to listen for.

Guitar: cheap Korean Strat copy with humbucker retrofitted at bridge.

This box does one sound beautifully, and it's "My hot-rodded Marshall stack is overheating and about to explode." Turn the Warp all the way CCW, tone about 1 o'clock, and set gain according to how hot your pickups are (I use about 2 o'clock). Big bassy hi-gain chugga-crunch and singing "woman tone" sustain. Wonderful!

Unfortunately it doesn't do anything else...trying to get just a little distortion makes it go crackle-crackle at the transition. Use something else, like a Butler "Real Tube".

It's not noisy considering the amount of gain involved.

Haven't had any problems but I haven't abused it either. No data.

Haven't had to ask.

It's a great pedal if you want the sound it delivers, which I think is killer. But it's not versatile. I'm giving it a 9 for the tone it has, but subtracting 2 for all the BS hype Tech 21 put out about how versatile it was.

It's a distortion pedal. Crank the gain and ROCK. It's especially cool for getting various feedback tones with the electric guitar and a big amplifier. Oh- changing the battery is a hassle with 4 screws.

The sound is not for everyone. This was a good fit for certain music I played- it has a full bodied distortion with a very harsh edge in the treble. Distortion boxes are like spices, it's good to have several different units around. Amplifiers are like the meat. No amount of spices will make rotten meat sound good. How's that for a carnivore analogy??

I gigged for years with this without any problems.

don't know.

This is good for certain metal and noise sounds. I wouldn't rely on it for all distortion needs.

the different of warp controll is't most notorious with the humbucking
to bridge. (sound more fuzz).THE WARP IS'T A GREAT ADDITAMENT.

GREAT PEDAL! I played for 13 years, I used BOSS distortion pedal, XXL better BETTER than dist. BOSS (DS-1, DS-2, SD-1, MT-2(puaj!))
fine tone "like amp dist. tone" very dynamic.
little problem of noise, extrange problem with low volumen setting of my guit. the high frecuency`s up`s in these situation.

no problema

BArta is't a good guy.

FINE pedal!!!

Pretty easy to get good sounds out of this (although I am still trying to find a setting that will let me turn my guitar volume and clean up the distortion). 4 knobs and a footswitch, not to difficult and thankfully most of the controls are labled for what they are (except WARP) unlike DOD's new boxes with stupid shit names!

It made a an old Ampeg VH 140 c solid state amp sound pretty crunchy to the point where some tube head buddys of mine thought the ampeg was a tube amp. Now-a-days the XXL is running through my Peavy Classic 50 tube amp.

It survived 4 years of punishing stomping in dives and outdoor gigs by a guitarist who would occasionaly get into it too much (thanks to beer chuging contests between me and the drummer) and is no worse for the wear. Hell it still looks pretty new.

NA

This little tank was good for the heavier stuff (CREED, queensryche, collective soul and originals) but was too much for the Stevie Ray and Chris Duarte tunes. Although I found a neat trick for that. I set my Tube amps dirty channel to a slight break-up tone (black Crow like) and then for leads I would kick in the XXL. It gave me that unpredictable drive and overtones that makes guitar players slobber for!

This thing is pretty straight foward and easy to get good sounds out of. Tech 21 website still has instructions on how to use it

Fender California fat strat-XXL-Music Man RD210 130. The MM is stone quiet with and without this thing inline. Of course when you crank it you get a little noise. Anyway, with the MM set super clean (totally countryfryed)I kick this thing in with warp full on and gain at 3/4 and I'm in heaven. Great harmonics and tube saturated distortion. Great response to player dynamics. I match the amp and XXL levels so I can use the volume to roll of the top. I also tried this with my Roland JC120 and well....you need tubes for tube distortion. Duh

I guess so and no I would not

N/A

I mostly play 50's to current rock. I also dabble in Jazz & Country.
All in my basement studio with a couple of friends and just for fun. I've tried the DOD 250, Big Muff, French Toast, Akai Shred-o-matic (which I really like) and Fab Tone. This box is the best of this bunch as far as my setup and style go.

I thought it was fairly easy to get a good sound. I've had it for years but only recently integrated it into my setup. I've used it in the past for at home, personal practice. I finally started messing withe tone and Warp knobs and realized how versatile this pedal is. I'd say if your just starting out with this thing set the tone at 12 o' clock and the Warp all the way counter clockwise.

I have 2 Marshall heads(tube) and a Randall head(SS). Bolt-on guitars with humbuckers. It does get pretty noisy with the Drive past 12 o' clock. This is a high gain pedal. I love distortion and this thing delivers. This comes close to the best distortion pedal I've ever heard which is a Tonebone Hot-British. I didn't keep that one because I thought this came pretty close & couldn't justify the $.

I play rock with lots of distortion going on all the time. I've got a Marshall Shredmaster, TS9DX/808, Rat, MXR Dist+, Boss Heavy Metal, Westbury W-20 - none have the touch sensitivity this one has. Though I used the RAT for a long time, it's distortion isn't as refined as the XXL. The RAT is grittier, nastier. I wasn't digging the midrange bite of the RAT anymore. I saw 2 used XXL's for $40 or $50 at a store I should have nabbed them for spares because they don't make these anymore.

Bought it used, didn't get a manual, just turn the knobs till I get a tone I like, it's fun. After some knob tweeking can get a good tone out of it. For real techies take some time to experiment to get the sound you want, not everything is in here.

Can get some LOUD cranky overdrive or just plain volume boost. I am a Bass player not a guitarist, bought this just to have some fun on a short Bass solo and maybe piss my guitarist off. I use it with a Gallen-Kruger 1001RB Bass head (540 watts) and Carvin & Hartke cabinets, Fender P-Bass, or Yamaha TRB -5 string bass. Kicks some ass.

Seems tough. Full metal jacket. Good strong knobs. Takes 9 volt battery. What's to break? Just stomp on it.

No contact with Tech 21. Bought it out of a used bin real cheap, don't expect any warrenty, don't think I'll ever need any.

Always looking the "THE" sound this seemed like a good idea. Used it on a gig, blew my guitarists mind, was already well worth the price. There is nothing better than getting to my short Bass solo (one per night) and making people WAKE UP and take notice. Like most strong effects try not to over use or it sounds cheezy. I have to give it a 9 overall because I paid so little and it sounds so good.

I't's not rocket science, but it won't get you to the moon. The manual is slim and apologetic (appropriately after all the HYPE on the Tech 21 website).

An average distortion pedal. I own several boss distortions as well as a lovely old roland BeeBaa and it barely compares to any of them. I tried it through my wasp head and eden speaker cab, as well as a fender super amp and a peavey bandit practice amp. It sounded worst through the peavey (a screeching microphonic feedback at high distortion), but it's a shitty amp anyway.

It seems solid enough, not solid like a boss pedal, I wouldn't kick it or stomp too hard on one of these. I returned it within a week, so I can't really say.

Don't know, never dealt with Tech 21. I was considering getting a Sans Amp PSA 1 for direct guitar recording, and I saw the XXL and bought it. I was disappointed - I will definitely play the PSA 1 first, if my guitar store can get one. I think the sound samples on the Tech 21 website for the warp on this unit could do with some explanation....

Wouldn't buy it again .....wary of buying Tech 21 gear.

Easy if you read the manual (apparently a foreign concept for a lot of people). Not all tone knobs work like the treble on your stereo receiver.

I play the XXL through a small Mesa Subway Blues combo using both strat style and humbucker guitars. You can get some nice sounds with this pedal, but I surmize it would be a bit harsh with a solid state and/or cheapo amp. As others have said, there's lots of gain available -- even at the lowest setting. The tone is definitely on the bright side; The Tone knob max setting is flat -- going down from there adds lows, and going past the midpoint cuts highs. However, the treble cut is very noticeable, especially past the midpoint. The WARP control, while an enigma to some, is way cool. Frankly, anyone who says they can't hear what the WARP does is tone deaf. The description on the Tech21 site is pretty good and you can definitely hear what they're talking about. For a high gain pedal this thing is pretty musical once you learn how to use it, and you can get it to clean up a bit if you turn down your guitar volume.

Looks and feels pretty solid. I don't really gig, but it looks reliable enough.

No dealings with them.

I'm an amateur who plays for fun. I like rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and a little bit of metal. This pedal can cover rock and metal (probably, but I'm not a metalhead so I don't really know) and blues if you want a higher gain tone. I had this pedal years ago and returned it -- so I was happy to find one now that they've stopped making it. Overall, I think this is a cool pedal. It's not too expensive, and you can get different sounds if you like tweaking knobs. I like pedals that have their own identity, and this one fits in that category.

Sorry for my english but i'm french...So...what an amazing effect...it's very simple to use it. 4 knobs and it rules...
You have a volume,tone,gain and the amazing warp control that put you in a vintage class a distortion or heavy fuzz...
You can find settings in the manual(well done)

I use a fender jazzmaster reissue and an old epiphone ET 270 (made in the seventies) with a fender blues deluxe tweed amp.
I use about 15 effect pedal(i love them) like pro co turbo rat, colorsound tone bender, guvnor,big muff etc...but the xxl is one of my favorite...the warp control can make your guitar sounds with a sweet class a overdrive, a real fat distortion or a amazing fucking fuzz...just great...
there is no buzz except extreme settings and i can say that this is definitly my favorite distortion.(and i 've got a lot of them...)

you want to use only one distortion? use this no problem!

sorry never had problem with it!!!

You can control your sound with the warp control...
you can control the sound with the volume control of the guitar
I'm not paid to say that but it's the most incredible distortion unit in the world!!!(try the killer fuzz settings....)

This thing is tough. Four knobs should be easy, but the damn warp knob makes the sound mushy or super mushy depending on where you put it. NOt that hard to use.

First of all, this thing buzzes so much my noise suppressor can't handle it. I play through a combo, and this thing is just mushy. I played it through a friends solid state half stack, and it sounded ok though. overall, that warp knob is useless, just fucks up the clarity. I don't really know of anything this pedal could be good for, maybe some Jimi if the sound would clear up.

The pedal looks strong. Unfortunalely, when I step on it now, it crackles a lot, and over time, the sound just went down hill until now it sounds like I'm playing abad version of mario brothers theme song, in terms of tone anyway. not very reliable, eats up batteries, and I would never take this thing to a gig.

I emailed them twice or three times. No response at all. That really sucks.

This thing is a piece of shit. Don't let anybody tell you that you want this. It's better than no distortion, but I would rather buy one of those mini danelectro pedals named after a food item than this thing again.

Easy to use. The Warp control seems to give others some trouble, but I think it's great. I'm guessing that the trouble some users had is what caused the company to discontinue this great pedal. It didn't come with a manual (used), but the website has a lot of info about the pedal. The controls are very responsive, and allow you to really shape the tone.

I've been playing for over 20 years and have owned just about every piece of gear over the years (even an original hyped TS-808 that I bought for about 50 bucks when I was 17). I plugged my reissue 62 strat into the XXL and then into a Marshall Jubilee combo (which has great tone all by itself). The tone and warp controls are dependent on each other, and with a bit of tweaking, it really gave me some impressive tones. You'll need to back off the drive a little because this box is loaded with gain. It really seems to breathe, and is responsive to pick attack and playing style. This thing has great tone. I like it a lot.

Seems very solid. Kinda like my TC electronic pedals. I'm a little concerned with the pots being part of the circuit board instead of wired. This may cause problems if I need to replace a pot, but it should be ok. The battery life seems to be pretty good.

I don't know. I've never called them. I do like that it says NYC on it. I love living in Manhattan, and it's my only pedal that says NYC, and my shirt/jacket size on it.

I play a lot of different styles, but am most heavily influenced by Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Scott Henderson Rock/Jazz. I may look for another one of these while they're still cheap. The only other overdrive I still have is a TC Booster/Line Driver (which is amazing with my Jubilee amps), and they're not made anymore either (and they're very expensive now). I wanted a distortion box, tried a lot of the current offerings (the Marshall Jackhammer wasn't bad, but it was kinda flat), and I'm really glad I tried this XXL. It's an excellent pedal with a lot of character. It's a musical instrument.

i bought it used off ebay with no manual and the gain knob was busted off so i got it really cheap! but that's what i love, i don't give a crap if it looks good or what. i can still adjust the gain with a little screwdiver which will be a pain to adjust live, but that's what the price reflects. i love this pedal. if you can't hear the warp, stick it in the middle, play a slide on the low E, then turn it all the way up and slide again--pretty cool hendrixy sorta deal. i think at least. so i don't think the warp does nothing. all the other knobs work, and the on/off switch is really nice and smooth! i like that. not clicky like my distortion+. but that's a matter of preference

this pedal is NOT perfect. in fact, i don't think any pedals in this price range are, and perhaps none in any price range are. i think something like a soldano or vht or something like that would really be 'perfect' but whatever. anyway...
i'm running it into a labseries L5 (which kicks arse! check out my couple of reviews) through the effects loop. really satisfying sound! i really can't complain!
tone knob--it's subtle, yes, but also noticeable! i don't know if the people who couldn't hear any difference have been playing so much longer than i that they've completely lost that area in their hearing. but it works and works well, at that.
warp knob--it's cool, but i think more gimmicky that cool. but remember that i bought it on ebay after reading the 6 and below reviews here (didn't waste my time to see what the peolpe who liked it had to say about it)...so i obviously didn't buy it for the warp feature. but it too, is subtle, and depending on how creative you are, it can be either a waste of space on the face, or a new area of tone to hash out.
gain--there's someone i agree with, but i don't think he posted on this pedal. he said that he wished that all gains were 'NO GAIN' when they were set to 'zero.' i wish this pedal was like that. but at the same time, i really like having control of my tone all the way through. rolling back on the volume is not a problem to me, it actually gives me another parameter to control, and i like that. (rolling back on the volume can get rid of the gain at zero). i used to play w/ guitar at 10 all the time, but now i'm trying to hone my volume know skills--learning what your volume knob can do for your tone is an eye-opening (or ear, as the case may be) experience.
i dont' experience a whole lot of noise from this pedal. when on single coil settings, i just keep my hands on the strings and it shuts up. zero noise. i don't know enough about electricity to know WHY this works, something to do with being grounded, i guess. you can fix that problem also by just taking a paper clip or some kind of wire, clamping it to the pedal under the backplate, and sending it to a ground. don't try this w/o proper supervision from a professional electritian or some expert in electricity!!!
remember that i only paid like 30 some bucks for this thing since the gain knob was busted off, so my opinion is biased to that. had i paid regular price, it may have lost only a point, though.

i plan on gigging with this pedal. i think it sounds great. good for nasty chunky metal, then get some eq pedal to switch on for nice sing-songy smooth distorted solos. good stuff. the pedal is built ford tough, and i believe is true bypass like all sansamp stuff (if i remember correctly).

i'll let you know if i ever decide to let them repair my gain knob. they guy who sold it to me said they'd charge like $25 bucks or something. that's enough to make me use a screwdriver!

i don't know what style of music i play! i'm into it all! i don't listen to country, but i wish i could play like a couple of those dorks! my favorite artists are king's x, joe pass, geggy tah, jane's addiction, indigenous, outkast (ha ha), reeves gabrels, BILLY MCLAUGHLIN, dave kline, and i'm just now developing my affinity for tommy bolin! i'm primarily a classical guitarist, but i love all styles. i just love playing guitar. this pedal gives me the smooth distortion i was looking for that the mxr distortion+ (which i love in a different way) can't give. i will in the future check out more sansamp stuff and recommend it.

4 knobs (Volume, Tone, Warp, Gain). Turn everything to 12 as a starting point. You've got to get used to the Tone and the Warp controls.

I don't like distortion/overdrive effects or pre amp distortion very much. I prefer british amps flat out (Marshall, Hiwatt) and use them with a power brake. For smaller venues I sometimes use a VOX AC 30, a Deluxe Reverb or a Bassman Reissue. To be more versatile at different volume levels I put a Reussenzehn Tube Booster (a high class clean boost), Fulldrive 2 and the XXL in front. The XXL starts where the FD2 stops. Even with its gain at zero you get that high gain Boogie/Soldano type of sound. I use it only for solo, cause with rhythm it isnt't tight enough for my taste. My settings are Volume 11-12, Tone 9-11. Warp 11. Gain zero. If you don't put the Volume or Gain above 12 its not noisy.The Warp acts like a compressor, turn it up and the sound sags (think of Neil Young), turn it down and the same thing happens, but a bit more gentle (Brian May perhaps). You get the least compression in the middle position, which fits better if you want to play rhythm also. Its not a very versatile pedal, the nuances are very subtle, everything sounds quiet similar, but that's the best distortion I've heard so far. Very musical, natural and organic, not tight and harsh at all. It reacts great to your guitar, playing stile, and guitar volume setting. I give it a 8 because it's too mushy for fast rhythm playing, the highs are somewhat artificial and sound overprocessed (similar to those psyco-acoustic exciters) and it's got no hardware-bypass. But it's a good bypass(there seems to be a buffer inside), doesn't strangle the tone (like these unusable japanese Boss and Ibanez are doing).

I've used it for several years an never had any problems with it. The footswith seems to be a bit wimpy. The AC jack placement is very unpractical.
I don't think you need a backup.

I've never dealt with them.

I play since 20 years and have tried it all. You name it, I had it. To me, this is one of the best pedals I've ever heard. It has a special loose, dynamic tube-like quality all of its own. The only real drawback is that it's not capable of producing any crunch sounds (way too much gain). On the other hand, you can backoff the guitar volume for that purpose or use another pedal, maybe the FD2. But for solo guitar (this Santana, Gary Moore, Neil Young sort of) the XXL is very convincing. Best results should be achieved with vintage (low output) PU's and straight forward tube amps, that are more on the clean side.

Typically, distortions are easy units to use. Want more crunch? Turn up the gain. Want more volume? More Bass? Same thing. Will, this is NOT your typical distortion box. The volume and gain knobs work like you would expect, but the Tone and Warp knobs are different beasts entirely. It takes a while to get used to them, and how they work. But it's well worth it once you the hang of it. One thing though...this box is a tone monster! TONE TONE TONE TONE TONE. And very very touch sensitive. The nuances of your playing have a nice effect on the sound of this box.

TONE TONE TONE TONE. Awesome tone. It's like a Boogie Mark IV lead channel in a stomp box. As I said, the volume and gain function as you would expect. Beware the volume knob - you can get quite a boost from it. I typically keep mine set at about 8:00 - barely up. And that gives me a nice boost for distortion. With the drive knob all the way up, your signal will completely break up. I usually keep it to about 3:00, and I play hardcore/emo/indi rock, and like a lot of gain. That however is the easy part. The hard part is figuring our what to do with the tone and warp knob. The tone is fairly straight forward. All the way up is flat. As you turn it down you get a bass boost, mid you start to get below the mid point, the treble is cut. Not a passive high roll off like on a tube screamer or something. The warp knob is strange. It's a little hard to describe, but it has a huge effect on the tone. I've seen some reviews where people said the warp didn't do anything. I don't know how anyone could not h
ear the effect the warp knob has. Maybe it's the amp your going through but I can get dozens of sounds, just by adjusting the warp knob and varying my picking. According to Tech 21, the warp drive controls the amount and mix of odd and even harmonics generated by the circuit. Odd harmonics tend to give your sound edge and bite. Evens tend to make your sound smooth and creamy. When you have the warp knob in the 11:00 position (where to the two arrows are) that is the middle. There it isn't having much effect. When you have the warp all the way up, you get a strange kind of overloading breakup, that sort of has a natural compression. On the Tech-21 web site they describe it as a "sag"...it sort of does that...compressed attack with a sort of expanding super saturated sustain. Reminds me of this old no-name tube amp my brother used to have...crank the gain and the high, mid and bass knob and the thing would overload and compress like hell. With the warp knob all the way down, the gain is smooth, thick a
nd creamy. Back of your guitars volume and it gets almost squishy. Very nice. The in between setting are mixes and variations of that...blending the smoother even harmonics with the edgier odd harmonics. And I'll tell you...you almost forget that your dealing with a solid state unit. If I didn't know any better I'd think there was tube in there. The thing is with this box is that they all have their own character. I've used 3 over the years, and they all act slightly differently. I don't know why. That all have tons of useable tones in them, and I can get the sounds I want from any of them...but you have to know how to use the controls.

Mine has worked without a hitch for years. I have a friend who has one he's been using for about 6 years non-stop without a problem. I don't expect to have any problems, but since they are out of production I bought another one as a back up. I really don't want to have to look for another distortion box.

Never tried. Web site was helpful for learing how to use the tone and warp knob though.

http://www.tech21nyc.com/

My playing style cuts across many things - harcore, punk, classic rock, blues, ska, name it. I just mash it all together. I love this box. As far as gain goes, it does everything I want. I don't want to have to live without it...so I got another one in advance of something happening like it gets stolen or lost. How many reviews on here are from people who didn't just replace a lost item, but got it early "just in case"? I of course wouldn't have done that if they still made them, but I had the opportunity to get a 2nd so I did. The rest of my rig consists of a Mesa Boogie Mark IV, a Home Made Swamp Ash, Maple/Maple neck Tele with a Seymour Duncan Little '59, a Home made Swamp Ash Maple/Rosewood neck Strat with Fend 50's reissue pickups, and a Vaccaro Astrolite with 3 Duncan P-90's. My other pedals are a wah, Boss DD-3 digital delay, a Danelectro "pepperoni" Phaser and a vibrator. Yes, the sex-toy thing. It creates WICKED electromagnetic interference, makes a bad-ass noisy slide, a strange string vibrating/sustaining thing...and generally speaking freaks people out. Sorry, I can't help it. If you can find one...BUY THIS PEDAL! Or if you have one and don't want it anymore...email me, I'll buy yours!

Adding to my review below--Try maxing all the knobs on the XXL and plugging it directly into the power section (tube!) of your amp, through the FX return. Awesome sustain, like "American Woman"!

It takes a while to make sense of the "Warp" knob. I don't hear so much of an effect on the sustain tone but it has a big effect on attack, from a quick gun-shot to a many-level death star explosion. (Yeah, I read guitar mags.)

I use it on everything, in a home studio. It is awesome on drum sounds; it turns kicks and snares into industrial-type explosions. On guitar it's a good hard rock fuzz with lots of character (Fripp, Mould, whatever.) It has tons of high harmonics, more the "bite" frequencies than the "rubbing styrofoam" frequencies. (Which I like, don't get me wrong-love that MXR Distortion+.) Like someone wrote already, it's too raw if you go direct into a mixer. It's not a static fuzz tone, there's a lot of life and motion in it.

I've got two; both going strong after 5-6 years.

Some of the early models had some leakage in bypass. I took it to their office in NYC and they swapped out the board while I waited.

It's got its own sound, and a good one.

Fairly simple setup of 4 knobs: Volume, Tone, Gain, and "Warp". The warp took me a little while to figure out, but it is one of the best tone shapers I've ever used... It alters harmonic tone within the overdrive and totally bends your sound. Other than that everything was standard.

I take everything simple... 1979 Gretsch BST-1000 into an Acoustic (that's the name... Not a big name, but it sounded huge and a lot better than most of the other halfstacks I tried) 4x12 halfstack with another 2x18 peavey Black Widow cabinet. It's pretty quiet unless you have your pickups right next to the box... Never had a problem with it on stage or in the studio. The effects aren't as crunchy as I'd like for rhythm parts, so I use a DOD Tech 8 behind it. When it comes to lead or soloing, however, or when I wanna tear up some blues, I kick my multi and just use this. It's got great overdrive tone with amazing clarity. If it weren't for this pedal my set list would have no lead guitar.

It seems pretty reliable, although I have babied this thing since I got it just to be safe. I've never had a problem with it, it's always kept its tone, and made my first studio tracks sound perfect. If I had to I'd gig it without a backup, but to be safe that's a risk I'll never take... You can never be too prepared... it's the nature of electric instruments.

Never had a problem I needed to deal with... However I've heard they give good advice on tone and setup, even aside of the problem.

I actually play punk, ska, rock, metal, and whatever hybrid comes to mind when I'm writing. It doesn't fit any in the rhythm area, but for lead it's a miracle worker. In the past I've had a DOD Grunge, which sounded so trendy I had to sell it, A DOD Tech 8, which most people give me looks about, but I love, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS/9. This is totally comparable to the TS, although the tones are like night and day. All it lacks is the reputation of Ibanez. This does, however, have the Warp control, which I think is the raddest thing in the history of distortion. It alters the odd and even harmonic tones to perfectly shape your tone to however you can dream it. This is a killer pedal. If you play lead, blues, or just want an overdrive, look into this. It's a great investment.

it's kind of complicated. the knob's setting is different. you might want to look up a manual before you try. after that, it is still little bit complex to use at a gig. the level control makes big difference on actual volume. so, i use my toe to turn it around since i am lacking with volume pedal. other than that is alright.

my setup is cort classic (a les paul copy) to XXL to boss ch-1 chorus to pearl analog delay to the amp Peavey envoy 110 or marshall vs65r.
i also use dunlop wah gcb-95 and psk metalzone which is exact same replica of the one from boss. The XXL alone sound way too brutal and raw. it does have a very decent distorted sound between fuzz and ordinary high-gain overdrive but too much of noise and feedback. But, when i tried it with a chorus, it worked out fine. XXL offers a serious dynamic and beautiful tone and it's perfect for backing and lead. well, i think it's not for any metal, though.

very depndable. it's got a hugh microchip inside and 4 knobs.. well, very simple structure. and, it's also very consistant.

i haven't met with them yet.

very exciting od box i ever tried. it's got dynamic and decent and distinctive tone and works with other analog effects well. it seems working best with a hmbucker. I play blues and classic rock mostly and little bit of jazzy chord work sometimes. when i got it, i acutally regreted and told myself that i should have gotten that TS-9 or a rat or something like original od-1. but, more i spend time with this, the more I like. try it before you buy it, please. and after you got it, spend a lot of time with it before you decide anything like selling it back. well, since they are not making this any more, its resale value tends to remain high..

Takes a man without a nervous hand - and also with eyes to read the manual !

Gibson LP DC-Copy. It's NOT noisy if you know to play straight and "clean". I'd say it's lively-yes it is ! Not every position of the warp effect can be used but it has indeed a variety of sounds it can offer. I'm using a Marshall VS 65 in the clean channel with the tone-button pushed down. It needs a bit of mids a lot of bass and less highs. I didn't get the Metallica sound - Sorry ! But I got something that might be better - for me. I'm satisfied with the sick fuzz and satisfied with the hard'n'heavy sound- it forces me to play better !

If I had a Mesa/Boogie Rect. or a Marshall TSL 100 I wouldn't need this box. I prefer to keep the equipment easy.

Not dealt with them yet.

Don't laugh now: I'm playing Black Metal and everything from Punk over Hardcore to Grunge (what's the main difference anyway?)

Took me a while to tweek it to my tastes, but nothing difficult, just a little trial and error.
Manual is decent with some good baseline settings to simulate various type of amp overdrives.

I have two amps:

A Carvin 50 watt tube (3 12 AX7's and 2 EL 34's for power) combo pushing a 5150 4x12 cab. I use this for gigging with friends and sometimes home practice. My other is a small 15 watt solid state Marshall, that I use only for home practice. I use Monster cable Jazz cables everywhere.

My main guitar is an Ibanez RG which I rewired with a Dimarzio tone zone and an air Norton.

I have found the XXL to be very noisy with the vol level maxed, but this thing has a TON-TON-TON of vol boost within this one control and so I never turn it up close to that high. I set the vol boost level at about 30-40%, and it is actually on par with the quietest OD stompers I have tried.

I can get a lot of full dist tones out of it... from metallica to ACDC, this is its strength. Palm muting makes sone serious chunk. This pedal seems to work best with a warm sounding guitar and a bass heavy amp/speaker cab. At full gain settings I have to turn my Carvin presence control down to about 20%. The carvin amp works well with the XXL. Its presence control is centered at around 5000-8000 Hz, and is at just the right point to dim some of the solid state fuzziness in the XXL.

Some of the mild low gain ROCK tones like Rush, Hendrix, QUEEN sound too fuzzy. Even with a bass heavy amp/cab/guitar, I still CANT get a classic rock sound I like. just too fuzzy above 4-5 Khz at lower gain settings. i guess have been spoiled by a good tube amp.

Lead guitar lines and solos come alive through this box. Unlike just about all other solid state OD stomp boxes, this one really projects pick attack dynamics. Very much like a good tube amp. This is the first solid state device I have found that does this. It has that great in-your-face musical quality I like about my carvin tube amp. This is its biggest strength and what sets it apart from other distortion stomp boxes.

Built like a tank... reminds me of my MXR pedals. Solid metal case, with a nice polished stainless faceplate.

it's pretty conservative on battery power too. But I still use an AC power supply anyways.

Not needed yet.

I've been playing metal and classic rock since 87'. I also play blues and some clean Jazz at times just for kicks.
For metal and hard rock the XXL is the best solid state OD I have played.

For classic rock I'd pick a real set of tubes over it any day. .. its just too fuzzy for my tastes. I haven't tried it as a level boost for my tube pre-amp yet... like in a TS-9 role.

I love its full OD chunk, palm muting is massive. With the presence control on my carvin amp turned down, the full gain setting on the XXL comes very close to a tube OD. This is its strength. Plus I love the way it projects pick attack. I have found it to be very quiet and transparent in my rig, even at full gain settings. minimal hiss and buzz.

I hate its solid state fuzziness at the lower gain settings. It's nowhere near a TS-9 / 5, or a good tube circuit.

The only other thing I compared it to is a Boss MT-2. I chose the XXL over the MT2 because the Mt-2 just floods everything in a jumble of overdriven distortion mess. The XXL is very musical in how it projects pick attack and musical detail... kind of a less-is-more atttitude. Amazing pick attack dynamics for a solid state box!!!

It's bottom end chunk is amazing, and will rival that of the best tube pre-amps, with the XXL tone control turned down just a little below 12:00. but you NEED A BOTTOM HEAVY CAB AND AMP TO ACCESS THIS FEATURE OF THE XXL. (seriously can't emphacize this enough)

The only thing I wish it had would be a presence control and a treble control... maybe one at 3Khz and the other at 5-6 Khz. This would help to tone down the solid state fuzziness at lower gain settings. A 4 band EQ would be nice but would probably put it up in the $150 range.

Aside from the strangely functioning Tone knob, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to get a nice creamy overdrive out of this box. Definitely read the manual.

I use a Gibson DC LP and an old Strat through a 1983 Marshall JCM 800 head and cabinet. I have a Boss DS-1 and a MT-2 and a ton of other effects like a Q-Tron and a Vox wah among others. The only thing I use my metal zone pedal for is chunky riffs and rhythms. I use my DS-1 for leads, but I'm thinking about using the XXL primarily for leads and ringing distorted chords. You get a really smooth sustaining overdrive that sounds awesome at different picking dynamics. Loose strumming sounds different from palm muted riffs. The only crappy thing is that this pedal amplifies guitar noise when it's turned on. I found that I got crackling noises out of an oxygen free cable that's brand new. The Warp control is just a compression type unit. It's not a wonder knob and I wouldn't buy this pedal based on the hype about this effect. It's a great feature, but it shouldn't be your reason for buying it. I strongly suggest trying it before you buy it, as this pedal isn't for everyone.

I haven't had it long enough to depend on it, but I think I could get through a show with just this pedal (I used to use only a DS-1).

I play rock that calls for a dose of heavy riffing as well as smooth jazz/funky clean sounds. My styles go from Tool to Hendrix to the Grateful Dead to Bela Fleck. This pedal should be test driven to say the least. I totally agree that each one of these pedals sound different from the rest, so try before you buy. Overall I love the creamy sustain and overdrive, but you aren't going to get James Hetfield's sound out of this. It's versatile in the alterna-rock category and the Warp feature is a neat little addition to get some weird buzzing/flame thrower type sustaining sounds. If you want a Limp Bizkit or Korn type of sound, buy one of those dime a dozen shit boxes and get a seven string guitar. If you appreciate a pedal that let's you slam fuzzy open chords and still hear each note, then give this a try. Don't go by the web site, try this *before* you get it, pleeeeeease.

Very easy - Hit the clean channel of your amp (tubeamp, for god's sake!), set the tone, set the desired gain, then alter the sound by using the the last knob. Five minutes.

I only use this for leads: Valley Arts Custom Pro (EMG-85 pick-ups), TC Electronics SCF+, XXL, Boss DD-5, Marshall TSL-100. I've turned the knobs on the XXL to approx. 2.30 pm (except the level). The SCF adds a little depth and the DD-5 provides a subtle delay (don't ever let the delay control your solos, unless you want to hide your lack of skill). I've I always wanted the hi-gain distortion sound (I hate the overdrive-sound - it's lame) and the solo-sounds I like is of artists such as Lukather, Sambora, and David Gilmour (the solo on Comfortably Numb is the best ever). The connection to Lukather should be obvious in my choice of gear. This pedal offers me the Distortion I've always sought but never really found before now, so it's a ten for the sound quality.

I've recently bought so I can't really say anthing in this department

Never used it.

It's a one-use-only pedal. Why the hell don't they produce a great sounding distortionpedal with multiple-choice level settings and/or distortion settings? This is very annoying. Anyway - there's only one problem to this pedal: I think the knobs are a little to easy to turn, which means that you have to check the settings before playing, because anything can put them out of place. But when that is said, then this pedal offers the perfect distortion and that is its only intended purpose.

It took a while but I finally got a good sound out of it and it is my main distortion pedal know. The warp is great but it takes a while to get a sound you want out of it.

The sound of this is awesome. I use a Godin SD guitar with an effects loop in this order: Crybaby535Q, DS-1, XXL, HM-3, Ibanez chorus/flanger from the 80's, and a reissue Boss PH-1; all into a Crate amp. It sounds like heaven. The XXL is my favorite I always end up using it. I can get many sounds I like. The distortion is very smooth I can get a smooth sound out of it like John Fruciante and Hillel Slovak from the Chili Peppers but it has a smoother tone ,as I mentioned before, than the DS-1 which they use.

Bought it used and have had it for a year still works great.NO COMPLAINTS!!!!

Don't know.

I play funk and grunge a kind of alt-mix if you will and it works perfectly with my Crybaby has that killer tone. If I lost it I would probably kill myself because I probably couldn't find one because I heard it was discontinued. I compared it with my DS-1 and I like it better I still use my DS-1 when I want a harsh sharp tone but the XXL has the best sound, tone, and is as smooth as hell.

No ratings in this review as I'm still looking to test all the many depths of this box. If you look on Tech21's website (www.tech21nyc.com) you'll notice that this pedal is NOT IN PRODUCTION! anymore. I got mine about 4 months ago, but started really using it about a month ago.

I know, most people don't read manuals. But with Tech21 products you really are better off reading them. It doesn't mean their products are not "easy to use" it just means they're not like everything else - see below.

I love some of the smooth lead sounds I can get from it with my Trademark 60 (Tech21 combo amp) and my modified Yamaha Pacifica and Epi Les Paul Custom. I can get really "singing" Brian May type of sound, with lotsa harmonics and "good", controllable feedback. I can get better rhytm/crunch sounds with my SansAmpGT2, XXL is more of a solo pedal to me.

Some people said it was too bright, I thought so too, when I used it initially, that's why I haven't used it for a while. If you read the manual, you'll notice that TONE control is flat on max. When you roll it back to 12 o'clock it boosts lows and past that it cuts highs, or the other way around, look in the manual. That means, that it's a completely different type of control, more interactive, so experiment some more. I like it now, usually setting the Tone on 12 o'clock. It can be somewhat noisy, when you crank the drive, but isn't that the case with most fuzzes? It's probably just amplified guitar noise, anyway. It's still very useable with Drive at 3 o'clock or less.

It was used. Solid metal. Still works. Never had a problem with any of Tech21 products.

I've dealt with Tech21 on many occasions about hookups, accessories, settings etc., as I own quite a few of their products - Trademark 60 amp, SansAmp GT2(nice!), SansAmp Bass Driver DI(try it to record upright with piezo) and have SansAmp Acoustic DI on order - and they are very friendly, helpful and knowlegdeable, they respond to e-mails.

This is yet to follow, I will definitely review this pedal (with ratings) when I explore it some more. I already see, that it can definitely help one make music. Being discontinued (that's what NOT IN PRODUCTION! means, right?) it will probably grow in price, just like Tech21 said - "future vintage". But maybe not, cuz there aren't so many great artists around these days to make this vintage and also digital takes over everything. Time will tell.

Very easy to use, it's a distortion box. Plug it in and play. Has a LEVEL knob, TONE, knob, WARP knob and Distortion knob. The "WARP" knob is hard to explain, so just try one out. It's cool!

The sound is GREAT! This pedal has very smooth and rich distorion. When I first got the XXL, I had to mess around to find my "sound." But after a little tweaking of the knobs, I found it. I find that the "WARP" knob really does allow one to have a versitile tone. It can go from a warped fuzz to a just old distortion, BUT BETTER!
My current setup is: Ibanez RG/Peavey Predator, Cry baby 535Q, DS-1, Tech 21 XXL, Rocktron Rampage, Dano Fab Tone, Pro Co Turbo RAT,Boss BF-2, Dano Cool Cat, Ibanez DE-7, BOSS TU-2. Sounds awesome!

The pedal is very sturdy and I would gig without a back-up. The battery life is good and I find that when the battery is about half used, it sounds the best. Weird.

Haven't talked with 'em.

Overall, this pedal is great! Awesome! Just is a good pedal to have. I play Creed, Simon Says, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, and my own stuff(which is like Creed, Simon Says and GoDsmack rolled together). If you are looking for a distortion pedal, definitely check out this one. You won't be wastin' your time!

no opinion yet...

same....

I'm awaiting the return of my pedal so I
can't fully answer the above questions thoroughly, however...

Their Customer Support is outstanding! Among the best customer service I've experienced.
Not much else to say, the techs speak with you by phone, return phone calls, listen, give (ahem..) sound advice and it's basically obvious that they genuinely CARE about serving their customers!
I'm a fan of this company and will look forward to purchasing their products again.

Can e a little touch with the level and warp controls, but once you get the hang of it is very easy to master

Plugged into a Fender something or other at the store and it sounded great. Brought it home to my Fender Twin and it took a bit of work. Eventually got there though. I believe there are variations in production. One review here stated that it was a bit on the bright side, mine tends to be a tad on the bass-y side. Probebly a combo of the components used and the amp. I play dynamic rock, and have three main tones. I have my TWIN set dirty so that when i play soft it actually sounds clean, and the harder i hit the more drive i get. I use that sound dry, with reverb or my MXR Phase 90, and a heavy crunch tone ala early grunge sort of stuff like Stone Temple Pilots. I use the xxl for the crunch as it is heavy but not muddy, and individual notes shine hrough. Also fantastic in combinations of amp dirty and deep reverb - believe it or not turns into a great blues tone

Switch feels shonky but it is still going and i give it some harsh treatment. Thats 3 years it has lasted with out a problem

n/a

For the range of styles i play this definately adds an extra depth to my tonal variations. Really makes my Iceman sound huge too (again, the pickup on that a really good so that is probebly a big part of it). I love the thickness of the sound without loss of string clarity. I do believe though this is not a fix for poor tone from poor equipment. It should be used as an addition to an already well setup configuration. for example it is the last effect in my chain which is crybaby - mxr phase 90 - digital delay. if it was nicked i would look at other pedals and use the xxl as a referance point

I plugged it in,fucked with it for a minute...and BAM!Kick ass tone,It has a nice easy footswitch so you don't have to pound on it to get it to go .......

I like tube bass amps,but I also use it on my apt.practice amp which is the marshall/maiden name thing you know....it's a little bass amp w/ a 12" in it,which actually gets better tone than most "vintage"amps i've played thru...It is a little noisy,but it's a distortion pedal,if it wasn't noisy it would be useless right?It has the ability to change sounds as you change sounds,if you are a dynamic player get it.If you play on one volume and are one dimensional...you'll miss the point.When I lean into the strings when I start goin' out there it goes with me and eggs me on,which makes me go further,and when I level off and fly around a bit it chills with me,and when I want to soar it soars too.With the warp cranked it magnifies the odd harmonics,and it gives a kick ass sustain for days,wih a red hot Early Stooges type tone like "Funhouse"with compression I get a kind of Zappa like burn.

I've had it for years w/ no problems yet.I have a MUFF which was my baby until I found this bad boy...(I really found it!)and I always end up using the XXL instead.In it's defense,Every person who trashes this pedal in the reviews on this site use really cheese laden amps,and no doubt the sonic masterfullness of this pedal would be lost on the transistor tv dinner sound they got goin on there...or like I said before if someone plays on one volume and is a one dimensional spinal tap kinda player,it would be lost.

never had to deal with them on that kind of level,but I have met the guys who created it,and they were good guys,I remember buying them a drink I believe.

I play from very quiet bluesy shit,to balls to the wall shredding not very metal though,more of a psychedelic burning red hot volcanic molten type thing.With a lot of bending,sliding in some country licks or moroccan licks here and there.

very easy to use. Warp control is a mystery initially, but sounds good in the "notch" position. Easy to recreate the same sound every time.

Sounds great. No noise when off. Use the output knob to get a good signal boost. Not as good as a Big Muff PI, but more consistant. I use it with a Fender Twin and a couple guitars : Les Paul, Telecaster, SG. Sounds good going into a WAH.

Totally reliable. I've gigged with it for four years.

Power Pop / Rock. It *was* stolen two years ago and I replaced it. I compared it to many other distortions and it was the best for live gigs because it sounds good and it's easy to set the knobs to recreate the right sound. However, Big Muff PI sounds better - but that's wild and has touchy knobs that make it hard to control.

It's easy to use, it's hard to use well. The warp control is (as stated in countless preceding accounts) tricky to get the hang of, and the tone control is a bit quirky too.

First and foremost, don't rush out and buy a DC power supply. It makes completely different sounds depending on whether it has a fresh high-output "comercial" 9 volt, or a crummy "generic" one. Admittedly I am not the most sensitive person in terms of tone, but the difference between the crappy SHUREFINE 9V and the Energizer I replaced it with was astonishing (I'm sticking with the SHUREFINE for now). It seems to create less trebbly more usable sounds at slightly less than 9V. Second, whatever amp it is that you run this box into really seems to make a difference. My 1960 RI Les Paul had a variety of good experiences with my DSL100, and I could probably say the same for my S.A. Strat. On the other hand, my little solid state Princeton Chorus sounded like a damn bee hive no matter what guitar I played through it. Some setups sound great, and others just don't. I'm not a big distortion pedal (or overdrive) sort of guy, but in some situations and some settings this pedal makes some very usable tones. If you can't make this pedal sound good inside of a hour or so of dial fiddling, forget about it.

The footswitch just seems like junk but it hasn't quit yet. The only real problem I have with the unit is that the battery isn't secured well at all and it can easily rattle around inside (against the circuit board).

I bought this product to expand the range of tones I have available at any given time, and, set properly, it fills that role quite nicely. I set mine Level = 10.5 o'clock
Tone = 8.5 o'clock
Warp = all the way left (subject to change)
Drive = all the way left
This yeilds a nice creamy overdrive that sustains quite well. Even with the drive effectively @ 0 the pedal still has a nice little overdrive kick and rolling off the treble is absolutely necessary through my Marshall ( otherwise it becomes painfully peircing ). I believe these are good pedals, but I suspect they are inconsistent from one to the next in terms of what you can expect in different settings. My suggestion would be to get a couple of different batteries and by all means play it through your rig before you buy it.
If I lost it, I'd have to think real hard before I bought another (but then again, the next one I bought might be even better).

I finally decided to submit a review after acquiring one of these for myself (I'd previously had a loaner from a friend.) Simple to use, four knobs and a stomp switch. The volume, tone, and drive knobs work as labelled, though the tone knob works differently from the simple hi-cut you find on most distortion pedals. The curveball on this box is the warp control. It's supposed to be a control for the ratio of even/odd harmonics, but advertised as a major tone shaping control. Depending on your playing style, the use of this control may be easy or hard, obvious or not. On the whole, it's a distortion box, so it's fairly simple to use.

Use this with Strats into Fender amps. The effect is noisy when the drive control is turned up near max and the volume is increased. There hardly any middle ground with this pedal; either you hate it or love it (I fall into the latter camp.) The XXL is a very dynamic pedal; depending on your guitar's output level and your picking style,
the distortion can be light, throaty, or harsh, in no particular order. Digging into the strings with a Strat's bridge pickup predictably produces harsh overtones, but lightly pick and strum chords, and you get a nice round OD tone. Crank up the drive with the warp control fully counterclockwise (emphasis on even harmonics), switch to neck pickup, and wail away. Again, if you bash your strings really hard, the pedal is apt to get harsh in the high end, even with the tone control at 12 o'clock (cut treble; fully clockwise is a flat EQ.) With the tone control turned down, the tone gets predictably darker and thinner, but not midrangy or muddy. The biggest contention with the XXL is the warp control. Does it do much, does it do anything? If you take it to its two extremes (full left, full right) with the drive control maxed out, the difference is readily apparent. Whether it lives up to its marketing hype is another story. Overall, you can get a variety of overdriven tones by adjusting your guitar's volume and tone controls and varying your picking style. This is not a plug in and bash away fuzz pedal, though.

All Tech 21 products seem reliable, but the unit is not true bypass, and the footswitch has a mushy feel to it, requiring light actuating pressure, not a hard stomp. The case is hard metal painted black, with a top plate for the logo & labelling. The insides are built on a large PCB with board mount pots and surface mount components. Consumer grade, but not troubling. In the 8 months I've been using the loaner, no problems.

In terms of product support (after the sale) Tech 21 is solid in this area, having mailed me manuals for other FX purchased used. Can't say anything for their repair department, however.

Works well for rock and blues styles, distortion is fairly transparent, retaining all the nuances of a pick or guitar type. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Good in its "limited" versatility (it's just an OD pedal, after all), bad if you're looking for a totally different sound.

Since the knob functions are unorthodox, it takes some time to find a sound you'll like (if it's even there).

I only owned this pedal for several weeks before selling it. At the time, I was looking for a death metal/major saturation type of sound, and I read a glowing review of this pedal. It's fairly saturated, but not what I was looking for. Then again, I use a solid state Crate head (hope to get rid of it soon). The EQ is a perfect example of a company trying to be unique without using common sense. the EQ was my major gripe, but I don't own any additional EQ's, which would help the sound. As you turn the EQ knob counterclock-wise, the treble begins to roll of, eventually sounding like you're listening to the amp from outside of your house.

Check it out for yourself. It's not the best, but far from the worst pedal. If tech 21 would include a better EQ, and boost the distortion a bit, I might dig it.

It's a straight-forward box. Quadriplegic monkeys would find it simple.

I've tweaked knobs on the damn thing and on my amp (which is a solid-state) and on my guitar to the point of insanity, yet this god-awful pedal refuses to yield any good sounds. I've run it through trans-tube amps and tube amps and all my friend's guitars(even a few basses) and it still does nothing but suck ass. And it sucks ass hard! The only good thing I can say about it is it gives off that tooth-aching screeching feedback very well. I gave the little sparkly bastard its fair share to show me it was worth a dime, but it failed horribly every time. I'm still trying to tweak something good out of it, months after I bought it, all to no avail. Methinks it is stubborn and should be melted down to make the world one more Boss Power Driver.
Unless you're in the newest incarnation of the Spanish Inquisition and you want an innovative and technoligically up-to-date way to torture people, don't waste your money on it. Save some more and buy anything else but this. Like Neil said, " it was a piece of crap."

I wouldn't use this thing in front of more than three of my closest friends for fear of near-death mortification. It's that freakin' bad, folks! But if I were somehow lobotomized, I think it would stand up for a while, although looking at it closely, it looks pretty cheaply constructed.

N/A

If some of you out there like it, and can get decent sounds out of it, power to you. I however, loathe the creature. I've never used it jamming cause I couldn't ever get a good sound out of it practicing in my room. I play everything from blues and pop to metal and industrial to glam-rock and country. Despite my eclectic tastes and playing, it has yet to offer anything of value to my jam sessions. Unless you want to count the time Jon was being a dick and Marc wouldn't stop playing that lame-ass song so I cranked her and let the screeching feedback bleed their ears while I got a drink. But that's a slightly unorthodox use.
If any of you XXL lovers ever lose yours, call me and I'll sell you mine cheap, which is fitting.

An addition to my previous posting: I contacted Tech 21 about a replacement manual and the person who I dealt with was very polite and accomdating.
Also, I've played a few more gigs with this thing--the more I play it, the more I like it. The tone and sustain are better than Chandler rack-mount Tube Drivers. This pedal could become the next Tube Driver; sought after and collectable.

This isn't a hard pedal to use. But I gave it a 7 because you have to get used to it, and you have to understand a bit about Class A and Class B distortion (I didn't, until I got this pedal). The Tone and Warp knobs do some strange things, but they're well documented in the small manual.

I had to give this a 10. But here's the deal for all of you that hated it when you got it home: TIME. When I first got this, and played it next to my DOD Super American Metal (or whatever cheese-o pedal I had at the time), I didn't think I had enough distortion. turns out that the pedals that I was used to using were just so damn bad that I din't realize how good this one is. Most general distortions from Boss and DOD seem to be made to sound 'heavy' at lower volumes (ie: those you'd use around your parent's house). The XXL sounds like pure tube distortion. But it did take me a while (and a lot of walking away to 'clean out' my ears) to fall in love with this.
I think that this pedal sounds better through single coils than thru humbuckers (humbuckers just sound a bit muddy, but you can use an EQ).
I primarily play an AmStd Strat with Lace Sensors (blue/neck, silver/mid, red/bridge - Similar to a Strat Plus) thru a Marshall 8080 Valvestate and this sounds fantastic. Using the Tone and Warp knobs, I can go from Brian May's tone on 'Tie Your Mother Down' to Clapton and Townsend to AC/DC to Pearl Jam without a problem. This is not a Pantera pedal, but short of that, it really does a nice job with alomst all sounds.
I have a DOD 7 band EQ box in front of the XXL. Its set to boost the mid and top frequencies a bit for soloing and does an excellent job. (you could fiddle with the EQ and get a passable Poison tone as well)
I also have a Big Apple Strat (2 Seymour Duncans) and an Epi Les Paul, and I don't think they sound QUITE as good (maybe a 7 out of 10), but keep in mind that I lean towards single coils for their definition, and the XXL is better than anything else I have for these. Playing with the tone and warp yeilds a very usable 'bucker sound.

It's been dependable so far. In as much as I'd never play a gig without a backup, I'd have to say no. But I wouldn't worry about this breaking.

My playing has improved dramatically with this pedal. I can hear individual notes without getting lost in slop. If it were lost, I'd definitely buy it again. I suppose there are lots of things I WISH it had (2 separate channels, so I could have a dirty-clean setting as well), but for the price, and considering what you'd have to pay to get something that sounds better, this is worth every penny.

--How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?-- If you like high-gain overdrive, then it's really easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. With the gain at lower settings, the sounds are surprisingly warm for a solid-state pedal. I agree with many postings here that the range of sounds is not quite up to what the ad says, but tweaking the "Warp" and "Drive" can create some very cool sounds.
I've set up the XXL as my "solo" pedal. I play in an experimental band with three guitarists. I can't get a good tight sound out of this pedal, but that's not why I bought it. I use a Boss OD-2 for tight sounds, then when I want my sound to stand out, I kick this mofo in. The sound is similar to the lead channel on my Boogie Mark III--very tube like, organic, and intense.
The "Warp" control is compression. If you are not a dynamic picker, you will not notice the compression as much. I notice it a lot in my playing and with my setup. It "squishes" the attack and adds sustain.

--What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?-- My main guitar is a custom Music Man Silhouette with HSS EMGs (85, custom, custom). My amps are a Boogie Mark III and a .50 caliber.
--Is it noisy?-- No. Considering that the sound is so tubelike, its silence is one of its best features. I've been using a Real Tube pedal for soloing for years now. The XXL just might replace it.
--Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?-- The variety of tones are all useable in some situation or another. It doesn't die, even with the gain turned all the way down. So yes, it has range, but no, it's not the all-in-one wonder that the ads claim it to be.
--Can you get the sound of your favorite artists?-- I don't want to sound like someone else, that's why I got this pedal. It reacts to my playing.

--Can you depend on it?-- It seems pretty solid; metal casing with four screws on the bottom to replace the battery.
--Would you use it on a gig without a backup?-- If this were my only distortion pedal, yes.

--Customer Support-- I have not yet dealt with Tech 21, but I'm going to ask them for a manual and see how cool they are about it.

--What style of music do you play?-- Rock, metal, punk, funk, disco, jazz, country, pop, industrial, whatever.
--Is this a good match?-- It's good for rock and for the occasional over-the-top Parliament-type guitar parts.
--How long have you been playing?-- About 18 years.
--What other gear do you own?-- My current effects setup includes: Digitech XP100, Real Tube pedal, Boss LS-2, DOD analog delay.
--If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?-- If I could get another one for $50 or less, I'd do it. If not, I'd save up and by Z Vex' "The Machine," which takes the "Warp" concept to an extreme level.
--what do you love about it?-- It's a first-rate overdrive (better than a hot-rodded TS-9, IMO) with very good compression built in. I love the way a note sounds when I dig into it, then hold it, hold it, hold it--it's a very intense, squishy sound.
-- What do you hate?-- Nothing. If this were my only distortion pedal, though, I would not like the fact that it's so intense. I treat it like a special effect, for certain applications only.
-- What is your favorite feature?-- The Warp. Maybe it's because I'm using EMGs and I am a very dynamic picker. I DOES respond to my playing, with very noticeable changes in the attack and decay of each note.
--Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?-- I compared it to "The Machine." The XXL is like the little baby version of "The Machine." I got the XXL because it cost one fifth what the other one did.
--Anything you wish it had?-- No. Asking for one distortion pedal to cover all tones is ridiculous.
--Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?-- It helps when I need a very intense distortion sound that stands out.
--Anything else you'd like to share?-- The ad copy for the XXL is very misleading, making out to be an all-in-one distortion pedal. If they advertised it as "An intense pedal with tube-like sounds ranging from creamy to screaming, with a compression control to change the response to your picking style," then people wouldn't be bitching so much that it didn't give them the world. I mean that as a dis to Tech 21, not the people who complained.

It's pretty much plug and play, but there is a little experimentation involved. The warp control takes a little experience, but it's very easy for me since I almost always leave it all the way to the left (most extreme even-order setting).

It's tough for me to come up with a number in this category since I'm very picky about tone, and in absolute terms, if a flimsy, mucky ten watt Kustom combo rates a 1 and my Victoria Tweed rates a 10, then this would be about a 6.5, but if you factor in several things, namely: 1) this thing has no tubes (therefore no output transformer, which makes it small, light, and 9V powered)
2) this thing is filled with (gulp!) integrated circuits
3) it cost me $98 then I'd give it about a twelve. To make a long story short, if you're looking for the proverbial "stack-in-a-box" you're not likely to find anything better in this price range. The distortion is rich and has the round clip of tube overdrive, and the tone of your guitar comes through much better than on the average transistor stomp. When I compare it to my insectoidal late eighties Boss HM-2 (which, incidentally, Jerry Garcia inexplicably marred his tone with on a regular basis), the XXL is like a Lambourgini next to the Boss Datsun. Once again, in the transistor pedal arena, I think few things (except something much more expensive like the Klon Centaur or Lovetown Brown Source) let through more of the guitar itself. One comment I've heard is that this thing only works through clean solid state amps, and I disagree, though I would add that as far as the drive aspect of the tone, the XXL likes to run the show. In light of this I think it sounds best through a high quality clean tube amp, in which case it functions as a convincing drive channel for those tube amps without one (the tubes in the amp add warmth, while not changing the distortion characteristics). When comparing it to my main setup of a Boss GE-7 equalizer into a Budda Phatman with American tubes, putting both setups into a Victoria Tweed, the Budda wins for woody warmth, dynamics and overall drive quality, but the XXL still produces satisfying enough crunchy chords to get used, and is thicker (more like power tubes) than the Budda, though it is a bit edgier and stiffer, and fuzzier than the Budda, and doesn't "breathe" with as many natural sounding harmonics. The warp control is interesting, and for anyone who cares, there are charts at the Tech 21 website showing the harmonic structure of the sound with the warp control set at opposite extremes, and there is definitely something going on there. If you start at the extreme even-order setting and rotate, you can hear the subtle effect of more and more odd harmonics coming in, making the distortion a bit rougher and more toothy, which can be nice for certain things, though I prefer it very smooth. You can go from "suggestions" of AC-30 Top Boost, to Boogie Marks, to Marshal stacks, though these differences are not nearly as drastic as switching between those amps. Still, it is something to play around with. Another interesting thing is how much mileage you can get out of this unit with the volume way down on your axe. In fact, to get moderate overdrive sounds I really prefer doing this with the drive control full on instead of taking the control down on the box. You can get some really chimey, warm chords with it this way. One more thing--with a little e.q. to weed out the fuzz, this thing is almost frighteningly tube-like plugged direct into a board. It doesn't work for leads, but for big, brash rhythm parts, it works well enough to use it like this even if you don't have to. Oh---and it has a pretty huge output, WAY more than my Budda.

It has really solid pots with nice beefy knobs (I was surprized by this considering the price) and the silent FET swith feels reliable. It also does pretty well with battery life, considering the output.

Overall I'm giving this a generous 9 because of how unlikely it is you'd find all it has to offer in a box of this ilk. And it gets a ten for appearence, with its little miniature amp knobs, its sparkly, holograph-like pattern on the face, and it's mellow red indicator light that looks like something off a Fisher Price toy. Like I said, if you need an uncanny, cheap stack-in-a-box, I think you'll like it.

Four Knobs: 1. Level 2. Tone 3. Warp 4. Drive
The warp is supposed to screw with you guitars harmonics, but it's so subtle you'll really have to play with this for a while before you begin to notice the changes in sound...

EBOW USERS!!!!! This thing will make you Ebow/Ebow Plus SING! It has this rich tone I have never been able to duplicate anywhere, and after you take the ebow away from the string it still hums beautifully into a slow decay....
Nice fuzz. I use it in at the end of a chain of distortion pedals (usually big muff then the XXL) for some really killer lead distortion.
After tinkering with it for a while, I did notice a really dramatic difference in the way the sustain sounds on a distorted note, but only when a distortion pedal is used with it.

Thick metal = Reliability

don't deal with it

I bought this pedal because of a full page ad in guitar magazine when I was younger... the ad said "It will make your guitar sing"... It's not worth $120... But maybe if you are a hard core EBOW fan it is...It does some really fucked up shit to your tone when you put other distortions before it... by itself it is pretty weak...

This pedal has many usable tones in it. It hasn't got the most obvious user interface, so that could be a problem for some. The manual gives a good overview of how the controls work with useful startup settings. Once you get the hang of it, it is a powerful box.

Others have commented that the XXL has a very reactive dynamic aspect to it. I agree, and think this is the most appealing feature. It really shines with humbuckers but is fine with single coils also. It is best paired with a neutral sounding amp that is not set up for too bright a tone. The normal channel of a 4 input Marshall or Fender have been my test subjects. I haven't tried it with a solid state amp. The Warp knob really does some cool things although not necessarily to the extent of the hype in the ads. To my ears it will do a pretty convincing Fuzz tone albeit a more polite, refined version. Distortion settings are also robust and meaty. Especially nice is the way one can set it up for a saturated tone that cleans up to a crunch rhythm with the guitar volume knob. Many pedals make claim to this ability, and the XXL delivers. One especially good application is direct recording in tandem with a Sansamp GT-2 set for a clean tone. I was able to achieve a convincing "AC-30 on the verge of exploding" rhythm tone.

I am a little suspicious of the footswitch upon opening up the pedal. The pc board is neatly laid out as are the pots, etc. This is really a specialty item for me, more for recording work than live use. It is built sturdily but i haven't really tested it in a band situation. I derive my distortion from a Mesa V-Twin for live work.

I picked mine up used and felt a need for the manual. I rang up Tech 21 and they mailed one out for free. Nice people.

I play mostly aggressive pop and harder styles of spacey rock. Occasionally i'll work in an ambient dance or sound collage setting. The XXL holds a firm niche in my stash of distortion boxes. I'd be upset if it were lost or stolen. I enjoy the way it reacts to my attack on the strings. It is unique in this aspect

The instructions did a decent job of explaining the functionality of the pedal, however it takes a bit of tweaking to get the full scope of the 'warp' and 'tone' controls. Dependent on settings, goes from warm, tube-like overdrive to fuzz.

My main amp is a Carvin MTS tube combo (which I'm absolutely elated with), however it's not very practical for casual playing, as it only has two modes (off and LOUD). My practice amp is a Vox Pathfinder solid-state. The Vox's overdrive is pretty good (for a solid state), but nobody's going to be fooled into believing there's tubes in there. Enter the XXL.
With the XXL in front of my Vox, I swear I'm listening to tube overdrive. With the settings just right (tone @ 12, Warp @ 11), I get a big, fat, tube-like overdrive. It's hard to believe what I'm hearing is a little transistor pushing a 10-inch speaker. The tube emulation is simply outstanding. Max out the 'Warp' and I have a pretty good sounding fuzz (WAY better than a Soundtank Fuzz). I can't offer anything as to how it sounds in front of a tube amp (as I havn't tried it with my Carvin), but matched with a solid state amp, this is the most tube-like overdrive I've ever heard from a pedal. I would suggest you try this pedal with YOUR amp though, as you may get different results.

I've only owned it a couple of days. It's used, and it works.

N/A

I've been playing for 15 years. My musical style is primarily hard, bluesy rock. I've used a number of OD/Distortion pedals (various Boss, Soundtanks, Ibanez TS-10, Ross, Daddy-O, Fab-tone, Tube Works), but this is the best OD pedal I've ever heard. Would I replace it? Yeah, no question.

If you have a plain solid state amp it is very simple to get great sounds. The Warp control does what it's supposed to and alters the balance of even and odd harmonics, with greater compression at the extremes. This is by definition a very subtle effect. The tone knob is AWFUL, however, if you have the wrong amp.

I play this with a Fender 60s strat and a Fender '65 reissue twin reverb. Without modification it sounds AWFUL. The reissue twin is very bright, with tight lows and very little midrange. The XXL sounds hideous through it, somehow too bright/fizzy and too muddy at the same time. The tone knob is useless, it simply varies the mud/fizz balance a bit.
I refused to give up because I heard something magical in the XXL when I played it through otherwise cruddy solid-state amps. With the Warp turned all the way to the left it sounded like a super-gainy Vox AC-30, full of crisp, regal detail.
What I finally did was buy a Boss LS-2 loop pedal and a Boss GE-7 equalizer. I used the loop pedal to activate a loop with the XXL going through the equalizer pedal. On the equalizer I turned the highest frequency band nearly all the way down, then boosted a few of the mid frequencies by about 8db. The two extra pedals cost a fortune, but I got rid of the very un-tube-like fizz and most of the mud.
For leads, my new setup is stunning. For rhythm parts, it's still just a little mushy and indistinct, but sounds very much like a huge Class A tube amp. I must say I love it now, though it takes a while to set up three pedals and all of the little patch cords on stage at live shows. Those of you who already have about 90 pedals in your rig won't mind, I'm sure.

When I first got it, I had the same problem with the bypass that everyone does. Tech 21 customer service were very helpful, however, and got replaced it for free. Since then I've had no problems and I use it all the time at shows.

Customer support is very good, though the guy did tell me that they tested it with '65 twin reissues and it sounded lousy. I wish that had been in the press that I read about it before I bought it, or better yet, that they had devised a better tone section to begin with. For this complex and high-tech pedal, one knob just won't get the job done.

I have a love/hate relationship with this pedal. I play in a US indie-rock band and though my style of music isn't dependent on a particular type of distortion, I really wanted something that sounds like an expensive class A tube amp. The XXL does a great job, but only with the ridiculous 3 pedal setup I have described. I really wish that Tech 21 had put at least a 2 knob tone section on there, if not a more elaborate series of switches for the various types of amp that one might play it through. If you are considering buying this pedal, I'd just like to say that it sounded its best through a Peavey 200 watt solid-state P.A. head and an SWR 8x8 cabinet. You can draw your own inferences from this bizarre fact.

1. Except for the Warp knob, the features are the same as any other overdrive/distortion pedals. Warp function is subtle. It's like a compressor fx. 2. Weak Point = No true bypass

1. Set Up : Fender Blues Jr. + Tri O.D + XXL + Boss Noise Supressor + Boss Digital Delay DD-5 + Ibanez TalMan Series Guitar 2. The distortion is good, but once again, the problem appears when you do not need it, No True Bypass!!!

Very Good Structured, but I do not have it for a long time, so???

1. The bottom line on this pedal : the distortion is ok, but you can find a better one. This is not The Pedal, it's just A Pedal, so try before buying. But you have to try a few days, not only at the store... 2. I would sell mine!!!

I found it easy but compare to a lot of review... it seem difficult.The booklet that come with it explained how to used it and how to use the warp button but it seem difficult for a lot of people.

The best I encounter so far in a stompboxe but wait here. This pedal sound good and I mean very good on professional equipment but it sound very different on every amp. You get five different amp and the pedal react totally differently on every one of them. If you try it in a Fender bassman and plug it after in a Marshall stack you would swear that it is not the same stompboxe. But it`s not a blues pedal so if you use high output pickup i`t's to crunchy but for low output one you get something close from zeppelin.(That`s with a Tele and a fender junior crank-up) This pedal react big time to is surrounding so before you get rid of it try it with something else.

I guess I could depend on it. I got problem with the ac plug-in that would stay on with I unplugged it so battery wouldn`t work and I had it repair by tech21 for free a year and half after I had it because I could hear the distortion when the pedal was turn off. They fix it for free. They even pay the transport both way.I live in Canada. It doesn`t like soap I clean mine with a rag and a good cleaning product and all the logo is gone so it look just like a silver pedal (Firebird dashboard)without anything written on it , cool look. As for backup, who use backup? I prefer to have one good pedal then two cheap one. I do around 10 to 20 show a year so I`m not going on tour for 200 night a year(I wish I was).

Very good. I dealt with them a few time for question or service (I also own some SansAmp stuff)and they are the best. They even beat Roland on that.

I play mostly hard rock and I been playing for almost 20 years I`m not the best guitar player but I know a good sound when I hear one this pedal will be rated in 25 year from now as a classic in the same range as the ts-9,big muff,ratt,metal zone(will be but I hate it`s sound), mxr distortion (hate this one to) and other. Yes I would replace it right away like I say it`s the best I encounter for my playing and my taste so far.I wish they would make it with two channel for lead and like I wrote earlier watch it`s surrounding.

Although there seems to be all this confusion over how this pedal works, it's really not that hard if you read the instruction manual (which is well-written). I think most people expect that turnung the Warp control as you play should radically alter the sound, but the manual makes it clear that it doesn't work that way.

This is one of three distortion boxes in my rig. Like othes who have reviewed this pedal, I have had an up-and-down relationship with the XXL, in that sometimes I have found myself both loving and hating it. But then I found the secret -- it sounds great at lower voltages (e.g., a weak battery). It totally smooths out the harshness of the sound and gives you the "Heaven and Hell" tone from The Who's Live at Leeds. The one thing I still don't like, however, is that as a note is held until it does out, the distrotion sort of crackles at the end and then just cuts out (even though your note is still slightly audible).

Very well built, so it must be reliable.

Very helpful.

Because sound quality is the most important, I'll use that as my overall rating. This is a pedal that takes time to "get to know." It doesn't surprise me that some people are turned off right away. But give it time (and some low voltage) and you may just find some really unique sounds in there.

like they say, it's a stomp box. How hard is that. However, I wish I didn't have to remove four screws to replace the battery.

I am a bass player. I usually use a Bass Driver for more traditional bass distorton, but when I'm feel like forcing my opinion on the rest of the guys in the band, I kick on the XXL. I play a G&L music man style active bass through a GK solid state amp. When i use the XXL I have to be sure to lower the volume on my bass. Otherwise it's just too much to handle. This way I can always turn up a tad to push things over the top. I turn the tone all the way down. I think the warp control is excellent. I can get either an intense overdrive sound or an almost fuzzy twangy Claypool kind of sound. I recently bought a big muff but I returned it that afternoon. The XXL is simply a better pedal.

i have not had any problems with TEch 21 gear. I thought it was dying at one point, but then a fresh battery cured everything. Now that I think about it, the battery light is kind of dim anyway. My bass driver shines brightly. I wouldn't need a backup, because it is simply a specialty pedal for me. i use it when i feel like it.

have not dealt with these people

GReat for raunchy bass tones. Can't use it all the time, though. The rest of the band would kill me. GReat for bass driven songs. We play everything from grindcore to country, kind of a Naked City thing. If I lost the pedal I may or may not replace it. I like to experiment and maybe I would look at other options. I am pleased with my purchase but I am not 100% faithful to anything. I would not pay full retail price for it. The way some people are talking, i imagine there are quite a bit of used XXL's around.

No problems.

Looks very cool. I'd like I could say this from the sound too, but I can't. I wasn't able to get one useful sound out of this pedal. The distortion is very hard sounding no matter what amp I used. I tweaked the knobs in every possible position but it didn't help. Gave it back.

Can't say since I gave it back, but the construction quality seems good.

For me this pedal didn't work. If you buy this one, then for the looks and not for the sound.

Very easy.The warp control takes some getting used to.

I play mostly blues rock,with a strat thru an old tube amp.For my needs,which are for a fat,warm overdrive,this pedal did not work at all.This is a modern 90s rock sounding pedal,think Bush.This pedal does have great string articulation,and incredible sustain.

Impecably built,very well done.

No experience.

Didnt work for me.I was disapointed.Although I have to admit there is nothing cheap about the way this pedal is built,wish I could say the same for my daddy-o.Sustain for days,give it a listen.

Very easy to use -- four knobs. Drive, Tone, Warp, Level. The only reason I did not give it a "10" is because you need to take the back plate off (with a screwdriver, no less!) to get to the battery. Not very convenient in emergencies.

I am extremely disappointed in this pedal. I heard a guy use one with a Strat Plus, through a little Fender Deluxe amp and was completely blown away with it! I had to have one!
Well, when it arrived, I was shocked at the sound. I have a PRS CE 22 bolt-on with a Crate VC-3112 (class-A, all tube, 30 watt combo) that's really not far from the Deluxe that guy was using.
It sounded like garbage. The only way I could get a usable tone was by turning the "tone" knob all the way down. Then the pedal was just too dark, it didn't let the guitar come through. With the tone set anywhere above 0.5 you get this nasty fuzziness on top of your sound. It just doesn't sound anything like what I heard when I saw that dude playing one. Maybe he modified it....
Anyhow, some people here have said that it gets mushy with tubes, and I understand exactly what they mean now!
I sent it right back to Musician's Friend within a week. And trust me, I tweaked, and tweaked, and tweaked. It had plenty of chances to impress me, but didn't.
There is a lot of gain though, and can be great for sustain. If only there wasn't soooo much fizz on the sound.
Warp knob does a good job replicating the "sucking" sound a tube amp makes. This pedal is definitely for people who want fuzz.
As someone stated earlier, this is probably better for people playing leads, not distorted rhythms.

No idea.

Not a clue.

Please, please, play one before you buy it. I saw that guy again (by the way, his name is Bob Margolis, and he plays mostly blues and jazz) since I sent mine back, and I still think his sounded great! I don't understand......he said it wasn't modified.
Try one -- it might be just what you are looking for!

4 knobs: Level, Tone, Warp, and Drive. The Tone knob is a little tricky to figure out at first, but it is effective. As you turn it from the max postion to the 12 O'clock position it boosts the lows. Turn it further, it starts cutting the highs. Normally, Tone knobs are supposed to just cut a particular frequency. I would rather it have 2 EQ knobs, but this arrangement works well. It just takes getting used to. All settings sound pretty good. The manual gives sample setting to create different sounds. From there, you should find your way. You will definately find a LOT of cool sounds out of this box. I give this category an 8 because of that Tone knob.
The Warp knob behaves sort of a swell/compressor. If you max the Warp knob and pick a string hard, you'll notice that the output level is, at first, reduced and then the note kind of swells in. If you dangle the note long enough by bending the string, you'll notice that your guitar sounds like it's spinning. Cool!
The box is kind of hard to use at first because the controls don't work in a conventional manner. However, the manual explains what everything does. It gives plenty of helpful sample settings and explains pretty well what each of the knobs do. You just have to play with it for a while and see what the knobs do for yourself. Once you master how the controls work, you'll wish every distortion box worked this way!

The sound is awsome! The distorions are very smooth and refined. It sounds just the way my Ibanez Tube King would if only it had more gain! And that is the reason why I bought the XXL! The Tube King is great for classic overdrive tones, like AC/DC or Boston. But if you want higher gain, the Tube King just doesn't have it. That's where the XXL comes in. It has the gain and the fuzz. If you looking for classic 70's style fuzz and 80's style hard rock/heavy metal sounds, the XXL is the way to go! It sounds just like the guitar on my old favorite songs, like Foreigner Hot Blooded, or Tesla Modern Day Cowboy. You'll also get really good Metallica and Iron Maiden tones out of this box. The gain and tone is there for all of that!
I like playing with the Warp control. It's a little tricky to figure out at first because it responds to your ATTACK on your strings, not mainly to the overall tone. So, if you strum your strings and turn the Warp knob, you won't notice much difference because the attack event has already passed. It does have SOME tonal characteristics, but it mainly acts as a sort of compressor/swell. If you dangle a note by bending the string, you'll get some cool harmonics out of it.
You will also get cool distortion sounds by setting the Drive all the way down and by turning the Level knob about half way. Play with the Tone knob and your there! Turning the Drive knobs will add more grit if you go this route. Very Nice.
This box sounds a little bit better on my Solid State amp rather than on my tube amp. A few other people have mentioned this also. I have not noticed any distorted signals leaking through when the effect it off,however. The bypass seems to work well for me. Maybe they changed the circuit since the other people have bought theirs.
This category gets a 10. The sound is unbeatable!

It's built in a nice metal case. The top of the case is a nice polished design. I wouldn't want to scratch it up, though. It looks really nice. The footswitch is heavy duty and the knobs feel solid. This baby should last a long time.

Never dealt with them.

It's a very cool box. You just have to read the manual and learn exactly how the controls work. Once you master them, you can recreate just about any classic rock or metal tone. You just can't be afraid to turn knobs.
I compared this to a BOSS Metal Zone, Rocktron Rampage, Danelectro FabTone and DaddyO, and a Bixonic Expandora. The BOSS MetalZone made my guitar lose all its punch and get lost on the mix. The Rocktron Rampage sounded horrible! I'm surprised because Rocktron products usually sound good, but they totally missed it this time. The Danelectro pedals sounded too buzzy on high gain settings. The Bixonic Expandora sounded pretty good, like ZZ Top, but $169 for a solid state stomp box, they could keep it!
This pedal sounds great and is a great way to recreate all your classic rock and metal tones. If you like the way a Tube King sounds, but wish it has more gain, this is a way to continue from where the Tube King leaves off. I would definately buy this pedal again.

An excellent manual describes in detail the advantages of Tech 21's unique addition to the basic distortion controls (level, tone and distortion) mysteriously named, "warp". It is this which lifts the XXL above the multitudes of subtly varying boxes, adding a degree of subtle variation itself. With warp set to the middle (helpfully indicated on the box), the XXL distorts away with the best of them, producing an even, rhythmic fuzz. Crank it up and all sorts of hidden harmonies are accentuated, making chords thick and expansive or deep-frying your picking. The actual process of the warp control is best described on their web site but suffice to say that it's use won't be immediately apparent when you first try it. It is difficult to get a bad sound out of the XXL and it responds well to different pickups, ranging from a little fuzz to huge, meaty distortion.

The first thing to consider - almost no noise. It's as if it were noise gated, especially with humbuckers. Don't expect the warp control to give you every possible distortion sound. Although it does do grunge, thrash and nutty voodoo-fuzz, the XXL is best suited to meaty weezer rhythms and even Radiohead solos. Don't be put off by the single tone control - the manual claims to have created some weird futuristic type of sweep on the knob - it scoops nicely to the top, evens things out and gives a huge pounding bass tone to the left.

It's made of metal, the knobs are ABS and the switch is of the round metal hurt-your-toes variety. It's rock solid but I still wouldn't dare test it's strength for fear of scratching the gorgeous laser-effect front. It's never broken and although I usually use it with an adapter, it makes the best of its battery on the occasions I have used it.

Never dealt with them.

I'm a big fan of Radiohead and don't particularly like grunge, so the even, meaty spread of the unit suits me fine. It's great for Weezer, Radiohead, Placebo and many of the newer alternative acts. As for value for money, if you just want to dirty up your sound go for a boss or a dod - you can find the style you want with more precision there. But if you want the chance to choose your own distortion style, or be able to cover most sorts quite closely without too much tinkering this is the place to look. If you're a distortion fanatic, get this and something else for good measure.

Some initial fiddling required. The unit is well into distortion at the lowest setting, so you must adjust at the guitar end, too. The manual is essential for understanding tone control vagaries.

Using either a Les Paul or a Giles with a hacked BBE 381 preamp run clean into a Hafler P1000 power amp & Celestion Vintage 10's. The XXL is easier to use with the Giles & Lace TranSensor pickups. Les Paul output is a little higher than needed here. With DRIVE past 3 o'clock, the distortion is too saturated; pickup noise is a problem at high drive levels. Sustain & compression are excellent, though. At lower drive levels, the WARP control has major effect. Right now, I like to set the knobs at 12 o'clock and adjust from the guitar, but you can push the tone around easily with the DRIVE control alone. I nailed the Fuzz Face & Boss Blues Driver sounds easily. DRIVE at minimum gives good soft distortion with little grit. A little pre-compression goes a long way to cleaning up the sound. Summary: very versatile vintage fuzz sound.

Otherwise dependable. Battery clip broke, store replaced the unit. Am using a wall wart now. Seems well built.

no experience. Don't want any, either. Since this XXL was bought used, I pulled it apart, saw very high quality construction. If it ever breaks, you MUST send it back to Tech 21 since the major circuitry is cast in epoxy. I believe this to be for purposes of obscuring their technology rather than reliability. The issue of harmonic content versus clipping symettry is well understood, so the circuitry is probably trivial and needs hiding to deter copiers.

Okay. It's strongest point is versatility. You can probably dial in any vintage fuzz sound you want if you know what you're looking for. Not a TS-9 or a metal screecher, more of a thick chewy bluesy vintage sound - good for solos, not for rhythm work. It exaggerates pick noise more than other devices, so slow & clean riffs are the mandate.

It's very easy, it's only a stompbox. The manual is VERY clear about the warp knob, everybody who is complaining about that knob probably didn't read it

It is one of the noiseless distortions I've ever used.It has a very original distortion definitly not for everybody. You will either love it or hate it. The people that say they didn't hear the warp are deaf or have very weak pickups. I also noticed that it works MUCH better with SS amps, it absolutely KILLS.It's throaty, meaty, it's awesome on every setting.With tubes it's kinda muddy. I have a Tech 21 Trademark 60, wich is a SS amp, but it uses the SansAmp tube emulation technology.It doesn't sount that good through it. I tried it with a friend's cheap SS amp and it blew me away. I will give it an 8 because of that strange behaivour. As some other reviwer noticed it doesn't have a very good bypass, you can hear some fuzzy notes when you play clean. I noticed that the problem can be solved by putting another pedal in front of it (a BOSS pedal) that is off. Strange!?!

It is very solid, bigger than BOSS pedals

I talked to them through E-mail they were VERY nice

Great pedal, as I said, not for everyone. You should try it with your amp. I play hardcore, metal(think about Sepultura's "Roots"). I love it's throaty sound. All my guitar player friends were impressed. I own some other BOSS pedals, this the throatiest of them all. Too bad it doesn't work that good with my current amp

This pedal offers a wide variety of sounds with minimal effort. However, the warp control in conjunction with the dirve control can be a little tricky, yet convinceable "tube" and cool "fuzz" tones can be achieved

I DO agree with some of you about the dissapointment when using this pedal. There is some irresponsibility with the advertisement because my pedal does not "sing", then "expand", "dilate" and "contract", however it is useful in getting really good overdrive sounds thru a tube amp ( I use an Alamo Jet vintage Amplifier and Mesa Boogie Subway Blues loaded w/ Sovtek EL-84's and 12AX7WXT+ "Telefunken" style preamp tubes and get a "hell" of a sound with both of them), either with a strat or les paul-type guitar. It is not my TS-808, but that is why I like it. It does produce good tones, and I'm sick of reading negative reviews and am truly sorry most guitar players out there want to sound like "Dimebag Darrell", 'cause this pedal "ain't gonna do it". Read Guitar Player's interview in 1997 (cannot remember the issue) for the XXL. At least they did not trash it the way some of the reviewers did. I think the product is pretty cool, and would love to debate the worthiness of this product on my on E-mail site.

Not at all worried about it's construction. It is built solid.

I'm sure that they would be extremely helpful. Their other products always recieve great reviews.

Compared to the "boutique" pedals out there, this is a good pedal to have for the money. If you cannot afford a vintage TS-808 Tube Screamer or cool fuzz, this pedal will come pretty close to the sounds you are looking for. I cannot believe some the bad writeups on this pedal. Some of you people need to have your head examined.

Just like a standard distortion/fuzz/overdrive box...... 3 knobs.... of course with the addition of the Warp knob I found the Warp to be.... subtle but very useful.

As of right now, I'm just using a tiny Pignose..... please don't laff =-) But this thing really kicks with it =-) I had tried it out with a small tube amp at the store i bought it from and it was even better =-) So I know that all I have to do is just get a better amp faily quickly. Just one thing...... whenever I have the Warp knob maxed..... and I have a Vox wah first in the chain..... it kinda cancels out the wah effect. It's still there, but not as dramatic compared to when i either have the XXL off or if i turn down the Warp. Btw.... having the Warp maxed out is where it sounds best, IMHO. II also run it with the drive turned down. So basically I haven't explored ALL the options of this device. But for what I use it for, it rox! =-)

I'm kinda unsure about the footswitch....... i thought it was an old style stomp box switch until i took off the back and had a closer look at the circuit board. The switch is soldered to the board and the on/off button just has a spring attached to activate the switch. Whenever I had a TS-5 Tube Screamer, i had to return one of them cuz of a faulty switch like that. But as of yet, the switch on the XXL hasn't failed me yet =-) And other than the switch, it seems to be built for the long haul =-)

Haven't had to deal with them yet..... so i'll have to get back to you on this one.

A reviewer of the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster in Guitar Shop tested it out with one of these boxes. So I was intrigued. And then I seen it for the price i bought it at. Was intrigued even more. Then I finally tested it out for myself on my future guitar, a creme white American Standard Strat. i LOVED it =-) It may be premature to say, but i THINK i've finally found the distortion sound i've been looking for for the longest time. And to all the others who hate this box....... I belive you should've kept it around a bit longer to fully absorb and hear the subtlety of the sound it generates with the Warp control. Although like i said, it's subtle..... but it's very effective, IMO.

This is a great pedal. It brings up all the old style distorion of bands like Kiss and Hendrix and Humble Pie and old Aerosmith. All you do is plug in, crank the drive up, turn the warp to 11:00, tone at high noon, and level around 10:00-guitar volume all the way up, tone at whatever you want and your there. It belts out the sweet, raw grind you hear on early seventies Alice Cooper. You can make it sound like crap if you turn the tone all the way up-it flattens everything out and kills your eardrums. The manual is void of humility though... it does do everything it supposed to, but they set you up for an overdrive sound that won't happen unless you turn you guitar down to about 2. This is a distortion pedal and it has the best I've heard I also have a mesa-boogie V-Twin that has serious gain, but it turns my amp into a mesa-boogie and that's not why own a super reverb.

I'm running a squier Jagmaster through a fender mid-seventies super reverb-that's all, except for a small stone I occasionally hook up. I like the thick, warm fluidness the warp control floods into the signal especially with the drive turned down. Drive, turned up alone creates fuzz galore and sustain. Add the warp and everything gets bigger. If you hit one note and leave it down it changes shape, like inverts. This is a cool unit if you like distortion-it's got those gold sounds you'd hear on vinyl garage rock and great bands like Pavement and Guided By Voices today.

I haven't dropped it or kicked off the stage yet but it seems to be made out steel and has one of heavy duty footswitches. You have to wait a few seconds after you plug in for it to activate. It feels solid, nothing rattles.

No problems.

Overall I love this pedal's sounds. But I definitely don't like the the fact that after you turn the thing off some fuzz still bleeds into the line-you can hear it quite clearly though it's weak, it's annoying. Even with all the controls turned off it still doesit I have to unplug it when I go clean until I can set up some kind of bypass. That said, I would still buy it again, definitely. The V-Twin is a good preamp pedal, it's really sweet and toneful, but it doesn't go where the XXL goes in the fuzz and grind and ripping department, though it has an enormous gain channel it's all mesa and nothing else. This pedal LETS you play whatever you want from psychodelic wastescapes to big punk hooks-it's all there.

It is very easy to use the XXL to get a completely saturated distortion. But if you're looking for anything else, it takes a lot of fiddling around to get what you want. The subtleties of this pedal are lost at high saturation. I leave the Drive knob all the way down.

I use a solid-state bass amp (w/ guitar) for low-end punch, and it brings much-needed warmth to my tone. Again, the Drive tends to be too much; but I find turning down the guitar's volume (gasp!) works to clean it up. Exception--using the XXL as a preamp for a miked acoustic guitar beefed up the signal enough to get through my other effects, etc. The Tone control keeps the high-end fuzz from getting too loud, and turned all the way down, the pedal makes a good boost for bass. It responds very differently depending on playing dynamics; adjusting the Warp control changes how much punch each note's attack has. It does not sound like a good tube amp. However, to my ears, it was more warm, alive, and responsive than most of the other dist. boxes I tried (and all the ones in my price range). This pedal does wonders through bass amps! It's hard to get an interesting tone, but once you do, it's really fat and sweet.

I spilled a mug of hot chocolate on it, dropped it, left it in a sub-zero car trunk, and it's fine.

N/A

I would buy this pedal again. I would rather have a pedal that has more gain than I need & sounds I can't use, but with some really good tones given some work, than a pedal that only has one sound. Just roll back that volume knob and try it.

It's true, there isn't much in the way of a clean overdriven sound, but I just use another pedal for that (for now, the DOD Classic Tube). As for the infamous warp control, past the median it does put some chunk into the bass, and below it, it seems to give a little more control. My main problem is the footswitch. The switch isn't high enough or something--it's hard to just tap on it with my toe. At the same time, it doesn't "snap", so it's easy to tap the button twice. I fixed this by propping the front end up with an Altoids case.

A well-engineered tone control saves this pedal; at 12'o'clock, it boosts the bass without affecting the treble, past this it gives more of a fuzz sound, and below it attentuates the treble for a heavier sound. The distortion itself is gnarly, but not as gnarly as a Big Muff, or maybe in a different way. The level and drive knobs certainly provide a healthy boost. Personally, I think this pedal sounds fuller with the fuller grittier tone of a tube amp, but it sounds good enough with a solid state. I found a particularly sludgy lo-fi noise combining this effect with the boost channel of my Marshall Valvestate, with the bass turned up and treble turned down. As for feedback, I usually play through an Epiphone Sorrento, but with careful tweaking, I can keep it under control. This pedal is probably better suited for humbuckers.

I dropped my pedal on a hardwood floor, and now the level knob is crooked and doesn't move very easily, which might allow for better overdrive adjustments. I took it into Mojo, where Chris said the knob was held in place with a plastic washer that he couldn't fix.

A very peculiar device hated by many, perhaps someday the XXL will be a collector's item. That said, the XXL is roughly a lighter (in tone and shipping weight) version of the Big Muff, an important distinction if you walk to practice. Not for everyone.

it's straightforward to use, but who cares when your promised tweed and vox tones and get totally disappointed

i wouldn't recommend buying it, unless your after a pretty fuzzy monotone distortion. after all the promises in the advertising, i must say it's a pretty demoralising pedal. i mean it's supposed to be dynamic according to the adds. what a joke. the only possible way i could get a dynamic sound out of this thing was to play ever so slightly to stop it breaking up. i normally use an ibanez super tube, which kills this thing in terms of dynamics.

yeah that's ok, but the tone considerations override this as a consideration

no comment

don't buy it. unless you like havy metal sounds.

Pretty simple, as far as distortion boxes go. It has the usual Output, Tone, and Drive control, but the "warp" control is a little misleading.

Great sound quality. Tech 21 really know what's going on and have some great devices. The XXL has a very nice "voxy" overdrive to it. Can't afford an AC-30? This and a Peavey Classic 50 will still get you the gig. The "warp" knob does a neat, but subtle effect, similar to some sort of compression, where if the control is maxed, while playing staccato riffs, the sound sort of pumps and sucks like a compressor. Still, it's a unique effect. My only complaint, and it's a big one, is that the Drive control does two things: very dirty and extremely dirty. there's no cleaning this thing up without rolling your guitar's volume down. Why this pedal was designed this way, I don't know.

It's a very solid unit. Well built.

I'm sure Tech 21 is pretty helpful. Never had a problem, however.

A great distortion unit, if you can have another unit (Tube Screamer?) for cleaner stuff (or don't mind rolling th volume knob down).

It's realy easy to use. It's almost hard to fail getting the sound that you want.

It sounds realy good, and it has a realy cool knob that controls the "warp" which is like an overtone generator (it rely fattens up the sound). There's only one bad thing about the XXL, and that is that the battery does not have anything that holds it in place, so when ever you step on it the battery moves and you can hear it move. But it's so easy to fix, so it realy doesn't matter.

100%

Never had to deal whith them, and isn't that the way it's supossed to be.

OK, you're probably going to want to turn the tone control down to about nine or ten o'clock. That's about it. Not hard.

I'm posting this because I saw the "it sucks, I boxed it up and sent it back the same day" posts. I've had this unit for about a year and I like it more than ever. If you only play with it for a little while I can understand why you might not appreciate it. The warp is subtle and not something you really use that much. It's just a great sounding distortion box. Very tube-like. It's true that distortion is always present, even with drive all the way down (a setting I especially like). It's not a Tube Screamer. I don't do gigs, I have a home studio and record direct. What really hooked me on the XXL was when I plugged it into a SansAmp GT2, into my Mackie. I set the SansAmp to a clean amp setting and use the XXL (or a Tube Screamer) for distortion. I'm getting better tones than I ever got from my tube amps. (Of course, if I had a Matchless and lived someplace where I could turn it all the way up, I wouldn't be saying that.)

Tech 21 makes solid little boxes.

Haven't dealt with them.

I wouldn't ever want to be without my Tube Screamer, my Cry Baby wah, AND my XXL. By the way, Tech 21 should consider making a SansAmp with the XXL distortion sounds. (And they should give me a PSA-1 for having such a great idea.)

This is perhaps the least versatile pedal you can imagine. The advertising claims the number of tones that you can dial in are infinite but this is not the case. The 'warp' knob is a load of toss. The gain knob is a joke. At minimum setting it still was too much. Why have any knobs at all Tech 21? It just baffled me.

This things sucks tone out of a guitar like you wouldn't believe. I recently converted to the BOSS BD-2 and in comparison, the XXL was a joke. The response to my playing in this unit was far below what you would expect for the price. I suppose if you are looking for a lead pedal, this may be it but only if you like 'whiddly-diddly' crap.

I suppose it was OK while I had it.

No Idea.

I would not buy this thing again. I like a dynamic style of playing and this was just not possible with the XXL. If power chords are more your scene, this pedal may suit you but take my advice, there are better units out there.

This is a classic stomp box. I replaced a Big Muff Pi with it, and have been sorely missing loud distortion ever since. The sound is almost impossible. By that I mean that it is always to muddy or to shrill. The warp control is useless; I can hear the differences but they are by no means desireable. The sound flat, so I keep the knob at 12 o'clock.

I use a Parker Fly Deluxe, having only two humbuckers. It isn't noisy when the amp is turned low (no hiss) but if it is turned up it "feeds back" (the only way I can describe it) in a bad way. Its like sticking a microphone right up to its speaker. The distortion knob is pretty helpless, as it is hard to tell when you have turned it or not..

I haven't had any trouble with it (except when the battery was low and I didn't notice). It acts weird when it gets low on juice. The battery rattles a bit in the case, but it has rubber feet so no problems.

I never contacted Tech21. I never had a reason to.

I don't think I would ever buy a Tech21 product again, just because I could never get any sound that I loved from the unit. Don't buy it if you are looking for a decent distortion pedal; try a big muff, one of those boss pedals, or the Art XTreme thing.

Simple, it's a stomp box, just plug it in and go! If you bought this unit based on the "hype" ads you've read, you're probably going to be disappointed. The manual is easy to read and give some usuable suggestions for dialing in this effect. If you don't read the manual, you're going to get really ticked off with the WARP Control. READ the manual before you end up throwing this unit across the room.

The sound really sucks! You've followed the instructions. You can hear the subtle tone changes with the Warp control but the distortion is mushy and the unit is very noisy. Your guitar tone disappears and is replaced by something awful. The Manual states that the unit is good played through either a Tube amp or Solid State. I have only Tube amps and no matter what I did I could not get a tone I could stomach. Perhaps a solid state amp would sound better. If you put a compressor and a wah in front of this unit all you'll hear is hum and lousy distortion. Forget this unit with single coils way too much noise. I tried Alkaline, Carbon and DC Convert poer sources. There was some change in tone but nothing to keep me from getting rid of this unit.

It's built solid and unlike a previous reviewer I didn't have a problem with the battery compartment. There's a fatter foam pad that hold the batter just fine. Maybe they improved this.

Didn't have it long enough to need Customer Support.

I would not buy this unit again. I followed the instructions, tweeked it for hours and played it for a week just to see if the problem was me, my guitars or my signal chain. It's the unit so I sent it back for a refund. I've been using the Ibanez TS-9 for years, the Tech 21- XXL doesn't even come close in my rig.
If your searching for a distortion box try as many as you can with your gear. Maybe this one will work for you if you have the right combination. Probably solid state amps (cheap ones)

Yea, the 4 knobs,are pretty self-explanitory. although there is all this hype about this warp / X-factor thing, there are small subtle differences in sound at extreme settings, but i usually leave that warp knob at mid settings anyway.

it's not noisy at all. but i can get good feedback out of it. i use a strat with a seymoure duncan hot rails neck/middle pickup in the bridge position. with a solid state 65 watt RMS fender delux amp. i can make my guitar squeal like hell with this pedal. the distortion this pedal also produces is really sonic. depending if you have humbuckers. battery life is excellent.

yea, it's pretty sturdy. but one thing that really bugs me is the hollow cavity inside the pedal where the battery is stored. the battery keeps jiggling around in there as it seems there is nothing sturdy to hold it in place except this somewhat effective sticky pad used to keep the battery from jiggling around in the inside. but overall, the pedal itself is very sturdy.

havn't had any problems with this pedal yet!

i'd buy it again. i really love the distortion and feedback i can get out of it. i compared it with this boss hm-2 pedal, and sonically, the boss hm-2 is muddy. this tech 21 pedal is good for leads, and power chords, but i wouldn't reccomend it for straight on major/minor chords, for it can get a bit noisy.